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S16.E13: Holy Macau!


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9 minutes ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I gave Sara a pass when she arrived at the hotel for looking like a slovenly mess....long trip, that's OK.   Not everyone feels the need to look put together on TV.   But when she got dressed for their dinner out her hair looked like she had come from hot yoga and I couldn't get over the fact that her elbows were constantly on the table.   When they showed her take a bite of food she opened her mouth and rested the entire bottom of the spoon in her gaping  pie hole.   Her lack of manners just leaps off the screen.

I mean seriously.

What you do at home is one thing but you need to dial it back in front of others in nice places.   The other ladies didn't look hair and makeup to the nines either but they all sat up straight in their chairs and tried to act like civilized adults.   Sara eats like someone who is trashed at Whataburger at 3am.   Not that I would know what that's like but I'm speculating.

The same could be said for Tom and a lot of the chef's shown eating on this show. Their table manners and the way they hold their cutlery bugs the everliving hell out of me every time I see it. The way Tom and others grab their forks like they're cave men spearing a chunk of meat from the fire is bizarre. You're an internationally known cheflebrity, can't you hold a goddamned fork like a person who has basic manners nailed down in your toddler years? Grrrrrr!

Some seasons I barely watch or skip entirely because the cheftestants do nothing for me, or I just don't like anyone. This season my beef is with Padma and her awful styling - the clothes, hair, it's all been awful. I know, we dont watch for that reason but it bugs me, okay? Also, her comments last night seemed unnecessarily shitty - the diss to Eric about his curry being too timid, the bitching about how someone's food was too hot, she just seems off/weird this season. I'm not sure if this show needs an overhaul with host/chef's table (Gail is a huge loss this season) or what.

As for the cheftestants, I pretty much like most of the finalists coming in to the final 5 except Sara - who seems capable of only cooking southern food -  and Kelsey - who while being a reasonably creative chef comes off like that girl in HS who always gets by because she's blond and cute. I don't like her, though I concede I did appreciate her approach to the QFC last night. Overall, I'd love to see Eric win because I think he's an imaginative chef, he's a nice human being, I love that he's raised in NYC but is still deep into his Ghanaian roots, and I'd love to see him rock some food that fused the rich flavors of Ghana (I'm thinking peanut stew and fufu) with traditional Cantonese cooking. I could see trying to make noodles from fufu, or something like that, and some peanuty element as part of a rich spicy Asian sauce. I just like him, come on Eric, win goddamit!

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12 minutes ago, gingerella said:

Also, her comments last night seemed unnecessarily shitty - the diss to Eric about his curry being too timid,

and I had exactly the same reaction to her comments about his curry as he did-- it certainly sounded like she was saying she should be able to identify every spice in the curry, which is not my impression at all about how a curry works (nor is it Eric's). After he made this defense, she seemed to "revise" her comments in a different direction. I think she was being lazy with her description of what she didn't like. 

And speaking of Sara and her "put-togetherness" or not, which has been discussed here several times, I couldn't help but notice that the guest judge showed up to the quickfire in jeans and a gray t-shirt. And not a particularly nice t-shirt at that.

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(edited)

I’m just happy Eric is still in the game.  I thought his rebuttal was commendable.  Adrienne also tried to bite back a bit.

I’ve watched every episode of Top Chef and have been underwhelmed by this season.  I didn’t like the attitude towards Brother (and I don’t much care for Brother).  It doesn’t help that last season’s chefs have shown themselves to be a really awesome group of people with very tight bonds. 

I do like Eric and hope he takes it home.  

For what it’s worth, I’ve never felt this show was ever interested in picking a winner based on any factor other than skill.  My understanding is that the show is actually fairly well regarded in the industry.

The criticism used to be that Tom didn’t like female chefs, but I never bought that claim.  He was a really big fan of Tiffany from Seadon 1 (who is doing amazingly well).  

As far as looks go, Kristin is gorgeous and Brooke is cute, but both have amazing cooking skills.

Ilan did suck but Season 2 sucked in general.

Edited by AttackTurtle
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1 hour ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I loved Padma in her gold dress. 

That dress, and Padma in it, was STUNNING. 

1 hour ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I also didn't really take offense to the chef order of picking.  I thought it was clever to attach chefs to ingredients...that's a nice twist that should stay.   But it seems like people mostly picked based on the soux they wanted.  It didn't read to me that the 2 black guys were last.  These cheftestants seem pretty buddy buddy with each other....I thought it was rather a gift that Justin and Eric were conveniently left for each other.  But as always YMMV.

That's not how I read it either.  If I'd been Michelle, I might have picked Eric last because he's been doing so great lately. If there was a bias, gender would be my first guess because he's the last man standing in a group of women. And Justin had the worst basket by far (coconut, lychee, water chestnut) so it didn't surprise me at all he was left to the end. Eric got his BFF but lousy ingredients.

1 hour ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I thought Kelsey and what's his name looked like Ken and Barbie cooking LOL.   Clever that he had a background in Asian cuisine.

LOL, I had the same thought about Barbie and Ken.

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1 hour ago, HappyDancex2 said:

It was a bit ironic that Adrienne wanted to block the other chefs from using ginger (although there are quite a few types) and her lack of highlighting the ginger didn't help her cause.

I thought she was doomed when she picked her sous chef.  Not that he isn't a good chef, but his track record with cooking pork wasn't so good.  Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on that.  It might've just been the one time when he stood in the hot tub and cooked pork that it didn't go well, but it seems like he bragged about his pork cooking skills several times, but I don't recall him winning for it.  All of these episodes run together, so it's hard to keep the details straight!

1 hour ago, gingerella said:

The same could be said for Tom and a lot of the chef's shown eating on this show. Their table manners and the way they hold their cutlery bugs the everliving hell out of me every time I see it. The way Tom and others grab their forks like they're cave men spearing a chunk of meat from the fire is bizarre. You're an internationally known cheflebrity, can't you hold a goddamned fork like a person who has basic manners nailed down in your toddler years? Grrrrrr!

clapping.gif

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4 hours ago, AriAu said:

I believe that none of that should matter-the winner should be whomever cooked the best meal that day...and on that day, in Aspen, it was Joe Flamm.  It should never be about the story and always about the FOOD. 

IIRC there were several judges who lauded about the restaurant Joe F worked/mentored(?) at in Chicago. I believe one even said it tasted as if he was back at that restaurant. So, on THAT DAY, it seemed like the narrative was to set Joe F up for opening another Chicago Pasta Palace, cuz, you know, that's what the world of food needs.

I do believe Top Chef understands their role is to have their cheftestants move on to open a successful restaurant of their own, and that it's another criteria besides the food.

1 hour ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Not a fan of Graham's jacket but for him that's almost toned down. 

Ha-Ha, I was musing about all the fossilfuel he spent shipping that jacket half way around the world to Macao, oh the humanity!, I can feel the globe warming.

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Quote

IIRC there were several judges who lauded about the restaurant Joe F worked/mentored(?) at in Chicago. I believe one even said it tasted as if he was back at that restaurant. So, on THAT DAY, it seemed like the narrative was to set Joe F up for opening another Chicago Pasta Palace, cuz, you know, that's what the world of food needs.

I do believe Top Chef understands their role is to have their cheftestants move on to open a successful restaurant of their own, and that it's another criteria besides the food.

I have never seen any real evidence that they didn't pick the person who made the best food in that challenge, that day. I know there are all kinds of conspiracy theorists out there who think they sense something in the judging,  so I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. 

However, I'd like to point out that Joe F doesn't work at some Chicago Pasta Palace-he is the chef at Spiaggia, one of the top restaurants in the city period, without regard to type of food and is regularly ranked as one of the best restaurants in the country.

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51 minutes ago, snarktini said:

That dress, and Padma in it, was STUNNING. 

I thought she looked really nice in the white and black outfit for the Quickfire as well. She seemed to be really enjoying herself and the location pretty much the whole episode regardless of what she was wearing.

Sara is such a wildcard. Can we really say that there is no way she could have a couple good weeks in a row and win the whole thing? All season it seems like she's either been in the top or the bottom. This was the rare week where she was clearly in the middle. 

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(edited)

I believe Joe F. dish in the last finale was the awesome pebble pasta that was well received and carried the day, but, they mentioned before that the title does reflect on other things such as body of work, and (my conspiracy) where their (the cheftestant"s) cuisine fit in the world of fine dining.

Re. Spiaggia, (thx, btw) it makes the point that they wanted to sire a baby Spiaggia as a feather in Top Chef's cap.

Edited by Eulipian 5k
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2 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

But when she got dressed for their dinner out her hair looked like she had come from hot yoga

I will say, from what we could see of her slumped self over the table, Sara's dress was really quite pretty, and not what I was expecting from her.  (What can I say, I watched my DVR'd episode of Project Runway All Stars right before watching this episode.)

The Quickfire dishes all looked pretty good, and like you all, I loved their time in the market, and how well some of them used it.  The elimination challenge was less successful, in my opinion.  I get the theme they're going for, but that was more like an episode of Chopped (I could hear Ted Allen intoning "must use all the basket contents in your final dish" in my head when they were presenting the platters. 

Was it me, or did Eddy look really ill during that his time holding his platter?   Was his heavier than the others?  I can't remember what was on it. 

Shrimp and grits.  In Macau.  I'm all about unexpected juxtapositions--I like being surprised with new flavors--but that wasn't the point of last night's competition.  Sara is starting to look like a one trick Kentucky pony.

I was lucky enough to be sent on a brief business trip to Shanghai several years ago, and I happened to walk through a night market just as one of the vendors was opening a durian.  OMG.  All I can say is the first human who ever thought to eat one had to have been one starving dude.... 

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2 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

Sara's dress was really quite pretty

It was, and I thought that she was more "dressy" than both michelle's and adrienne's. As for her damp hair, I'm pretty sure more than one gal looked like they had just stepped out of the shower (either bathroom sort, or weather-related). Some people just seem to want to hate on Sara.

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20 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I will say, from what we could see of her slumped self over the table, Sara's dress was really quite pretty, and not what I was expecting from her.  (What can I say, I watched my DVR'd episode of Project Runway All Stars right before watching this episode.)

The Quickfire dishes all looked pretty good, and like you all, I loved their time in the market, and how well some of them used it.  The elimination challenge was less successful, in my opinion.  I get the theme they're going for, but that was more like an episode of Chopped (I could hear Ted Allen intoning "must use all the basket contents in your final dish" in my head when they were presenting the platters. 

Was it me, or did Eddy look really ill during that his time holding his platter?   Was his heavier than the others?  I can't remember what was on it. 

Shrimp and grits.  In Macau.  I'm all about unexpected juxtapositions--I like being surprised with new flavors--but that wasn't the point of last night's competition.  Sara is starting to look like a one trick Kentucky pony.

I was lucky enough to be sent on a brief business trip to Shanghai several years ago, and I happened to walk through a night market just as one of the vendors was opening a durian.  OMG.  All I can say is the first human who ever thought to eat one had to have been one starving dude.... 

Eddie (and the rest of the sous chefs) was probably hungover.   I heard Eric tell Justin not to drink too much when they left the market.   I'm sure those guys had a fun time in Macau while the cameras weren't rolling. 

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7 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

heard Eric tell Justin not to drink too much when they left the market. 

That was Michelle to David. They oddly barely showed Eric/Justin or Sara/Eddie in the market. 

According to Padma’s IG they had a huge thunderstorm right after the QF ended and before they could intro the EC so they all had to hangout in the market For awhile.

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14 minutes ago, Harry24 said:

I just want to say that I think Michelle is charming, thoughtful and lovable and might just be the best chef this season (she had the dish that Tom said was the best dish of the season.)

Although I'm rooting for Kelsey, I will be okay with any of the remaining 4 winning, especially Michelle.  They all seem like nice people and great chefs.  I think that any of them would be deserving of the title.  I wish we could have a taste test from all of the dishes they have made.  Michelle has made some  that look pretty darn good!  Going with her record on the show, I think she is the top contender.  

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21 hours ago, ChitChat said:

I wasn't sure how Kelsey's dish was going to taste being fried in cornstarch

9 hours ago, Bucket said:

It is commonly done on chicken and vegetables.

Tempura batter can be made with only cornstarch, but is usually made a 50/50 ratio of cornstarch and flour. Cornstarch is also used in a technique called velveting, where you coat meat in a cornstarch slurry and blanch the meat in boiling water. You can then use the meat in a stirfry without worrying that the meat will be dry and tough. You've probably never had a stirfry at a Chinese restaurant in America where they don't use the technique.

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3 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Shrimp and grits.  In Macau.  I'm all about unexpected juxtapositions--I like being surprised with new flavors--but that wasn't the point of last night's competition.  Sara is starting to look like a one trick Kentucky pony.

I admit I'm not a Sara fan--but I could have sworn in one of her last TH's last week, she said she was looking forward to doing something other than Kentucky food. (Or maybe I just imagined it.) That was why I was a little surprised about the shrimp and grits hot take.

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22 hours ago, zibnchy said:

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

If your hypothesis was true, every season of Top Chef would have been won by young, pretty, white women who wear makeup.

🙄

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14 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Though I didn't grow up cooking those flavors, I absolutely agreed with Justin that lychee is too light and floral to stand up to curry.

I think lychee was one of his required ingredients.

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I must say Adrienne dish looked rather pedestrian. Like someone had plopped a cube of meat and a chunk of broccoli on a rice cake and called it a night. It looked like something you would find at a PTA potluck rather than the final five of top chef. It kind of made me glad that she wasn't moving on if that was the kind of thing we could be expecting in the finale. At least Eric's dish looked looked ambitious.

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1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

Tempura batter can be made with only cornstarch, but is usually made a 50/50 ratio of cornstarch and flour. Cornstarch is also used in a technique called velveting, where you coat meat in a cornstarch slurry and blanch the meat in boiling water.

That's interesting.  All of these years I've been around and I didn't know that!  I don't fry foods too often, but when I do I  use either flour or fine bread crumbs.  I always thought of cornstarch just as a thickening agent.  I should read the labels on my products more often!  😉  

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15 minutes ago, Ashforth said:

I think lychee was one of his required ingredients.

Yes, I know, which is why he shouldn't have made a curry. Eric had to use lychee; he didn't have to use or make a curry. And he certainly didn't need to make a red curry. If he was going to make a curry that worked with lychee, it should have been green because green curry tends to be more aromatic. It's got lemongrass, thai basil (an anise type flavor), and kaffir lime leaves. Lychee would have fit perfectly. I get why Eric didn't make certain choices because certain ingredients, like ginger, were off the table. He might have been able to use galangal. Justin is a multi-racial chef of asian ancestry who could have helped Eric figure out ingredient substitutions. However, a red curry wasn't the greatest decision.

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I've recently started tossing tofu in cornstarch to get a nice crispy coating.

This episode sort of cemented my hatred of seafood - it's not just that I never liked the taste/texture - but to see it moving so soon before it's cooked gives me the heebie jeebies! 

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17 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Yes, I know, which is why he shouldn't have made a curry. Eric had to use lychee; he didn't have to use or make a curry. And he certainly didn't need to make a red curry. If he was going to make a curry that worked with lychee, it should have been green because green curry tends to be more aromatic. It's got lemongrass, thai basil (an anise type flavor), and kaffir lime leaves. Lychee would have fit perfectly. I get why Eric didn't make certain choices because certain ingredients, like ginger, were off the table. He might have been able to use galangal. Justin is a multi-racial chef of asian ancestry who could have helped Eric figure out ingredient substitutions. However, a red curry wasn't the greatest decision.

Now I understand what you meant, thanks!

I think Eric is going to win. He seems to get the benefit of the doubt anytime his dishes fall short. 

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13 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

This episode sort of cemented my hatred of seafood - it's not just that I never liked the taste/texture - but to see it moving so soon before it's cooked gives me the heebie jeebies! 

And here I was disappointed because no one wanted to use the eel in the Quickfire. I loooove eel. I love all seafood except for salmon, which I will only eat in high caliber sushi/sashimi.

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15 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

I've recently started tossing tofu in cornstarch to get a nice crispy coating.

Popcorn tofu is tha business. I can eat a disturbing amount of it. It's the only thing I ever get from Wheatsville. Although, I have been known to make it from time to time. My batter is usually 50% cornstarch, 25% cornmeal, and 25% flour.

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(edited)

Felt kind of lame, Adrienne got cut, because her portions were too small?  Especially since it looked like some the other contestants portions didn't seem all that much bigger.

Felt like Sara's dish really over stretched the challenge.  She should have been eliminated. While the other contestants had their own spins, it had a fusion of Chinese/Macau.  Its one thing to do something like Kelsey did, which is to incorporate Chinese style into what she likes to do.  Its another thing to just be like screw it, I want to make shrimp and grits.   I don't think there was any remotely Chinese/Macau flair in it.

Eric's basket seemed really difficult.  Lychee is really delicate flavor.   Not to mention, I don't think there is any savory dishes that uses lychee in general.  They are all desserts.  Chinese dishes that uses lychees are usually some drink, pudding, or some fruit cocktail.  The only dishes I can think is something like the following.  I felt like Eric would have been nailed, and probably sent home if he made something like the following.

image.png.394906cd1477318f61c92a634dc83dec.pngimage.png.f25eba4cf31cb628ec7a4d17a13055c9.png

Did anyone thought the mysterious white powder bag that Kelsey got was a bag of MSG?

Edited by seltzer3
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(edited)
37 minutes ago, seltzer3 said:

Did anyone thought the mysterious white powder bag that Kelsey got was a bag of MSG?

The picture looks like the Fancy Toaster's cake in a transparent cup, lol.

btw: isn't MSG just a natural food enhancer from yeast, usually hidden as autolyzed yeast, in most food prepared products (from the man who "discovered" umami)?

Edited by Eulipian 5k
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Upon rewatch I get the comments of Padma being crabby.  She was edited that way, at least in too much padma comments and too little Tom and guest judge comments.  I know she thinks she’s the queen of curry but she is Indian and knows Indian curry.....not Ghana, not japan, not any other regional curry.  I get Eric’s comment as well.  I always wonder how these judges would rate certain ethnic foods that are by nature one note.

That being said Eric probably should not have made curry given his ingredients.  Or he could have pickled the lychees because of course everything needs acid in America lol.

Minus 1000 points on Sara pronouncing sake as saki.  Please stop.  And it’s not carryokie either.  I’m off to eat some marrsssscapone.

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I was relieved Adrienne got the boot - I never really clicked with her (to the extent one can with a person on television whose food you can never taste!), and I am ready to move on from those earrings that give me too many flashbacks to college days filled with Phish, tapestries on walls and herbal refreshment.

On a similarly superficial note: I also am super intrigued by Sara's dress, as are those above. I honestly wish I knew where she got it because I'm kiiiiind of digging it.

Food: Kelsey's dish seemed like the obvious winner, and I enjoyed seeing both she and Michelle really shine in both challenges. Next week is going to be interesting - I honestly can't quite tell who the final three will be (and I like that!).

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2 hours ago, The Solution said:

And here I was disappointed because no one wanted to use the eel in the Quickfire. I loooove eel. I love all seafood except for salmon, which I will only eat in high caliber sushi/sashimi.

Its one of the times I feel like (stinkface) "that person" but I have gotten to the point where I will pretty much only eat salmon if I'm confident that it's line or wild caught.

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23 minutes ago, Vermicious Knid said:

They need to stop bringing five people to the finale. And dragging it out for 3-4 episodes.

But it would have just meant two more episodes in Kentucky. I like that they switch it up and go some place else for a few episodes. It’s not as if the final challenge lasts for several episodes. 

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Unpopular opinion, but I like both Sara and Kelsey.  Especially Kelsey.  Yeah, she seems like (as one poster mentioned) the girl in high school that got everything because she was pretty and blond.  But she seems nice and she definitely (as another poster mentioned) knows how to interpret the challenges and cook.  She seems like a very smart chef and a good teammate.  She seems like she has a good sense of humor and doesn’t take things too seriously.  I’m rooting for Eric to win but if not him, then I hope Kelsey takes it.

Sara doesn’t bother me as much as she does some.  Yeah she was whiny as Q3*#^ during the Hoop Dreams challenge and (especially after reading the post of someone who was there) took it all way too seriously to me, but other than that episode, I don’t remember anything else that’s she’s done to make me dislike her.

I don’t hate on any of the chefs this season (thank goodness) but Eric and Kelsey are my two favorites to take this.  I adore Eric and after taking my DNA test and seeing that I am 23 percent Ghanaian, I’m rooting all the way.  Plus, he’s just so damn nice and pleasant to watch. 

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They are all pretty nice this season compared to some of the nutters we've had in the dim dark past (the Texas mean girls, Josie, Mike Izabella, most of the season 2 nutters). These guys are positively saints in comparison. 

Loved that Sarah jumped on Kelsey to congratulate her win. Loved Kelsey asking Justin about the beans and how helpful he was even though he was supposed to help another chef. 

I think the gang this season are great!!! I have a soft spot for Michelle but I really like all of them. 

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(edited)

That's the unfortunate recipe of Reality TV.  There needs to be a "hero" and a "villain".  So when there isn't a defined "hero" or "villain"  (especially villain), us the audience will try to gravitate and make a villain in the cast. 

I feel like the past 4-5 seasons of top chef, there hasn't really been a main villain in general, especially compared to the early seasons (Tiffani, Illan, Betty, Lisa, Mike Isabella etc.) So whoever is the contestant the comes off the tiniest whiny, or have a bit of a bitch face, or feels frustrated is going to get the brunt. 

I do think Kelsey deserved to win, but I realized her basket ingredients were cashews, cabbage, and oranges.  To be honest, it didn't even look like she even higlighted them.

Eric's basket is even harder than I realized.  He had water chestnuts as his ingredient, is also a hard ingredient to highlight.  It doesn't really have a flavor of in itself.

Sara's basket frustrated me, because she could really been creative with Chinese cooking instead of shrimp and grits.  Like  would been awesome to do something like a cauliflower pork dry pot or fusing something like this.

image.png.9096ec9c2b9d71afffc550c3ab1eb7ce.png

Edited by seltzer3
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15 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Tempura batter can be made with only cornstarch, but is usually made a 50/50 ratio of cornstarch and flour. Cornstarch is also used in a technique called velveting, where you coat meat in a cornstarch slurry and blanch the meat in boiling water. You can then use the meat in a stirfry without worrying that the meat will be dry and tough. You've probably never had a stirfry at a Chinese restaurant in America where they don't use the technique.

I was referring to dusting chicken wings in straight cornstarch before frying to get a crisp skin without batter.  Some vegetables too.  Lotus root is done that way. 

I love to do a slurry on beef.  I just found out about that last year.  I googled why chinese beef melted in your mouth! 

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11 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Minus 1000 points on Sara pronouncing sake as saki.  Please stop.  And it’s not carryokie either.  I’m off to eat some marrsssscapone.

🧐 So how is it pronounced then? That’s how I’ve always heard it. 

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In Japanese, the vowel that is transliterated as "i" is always pronounced  like "ee", rhymes with "me". "e" is more like "eh", rhymes with "meh". So sake is pronounced sah-keh. It's not like English where there are many more vowel sounds than there are vowel letters so you have to use context to figure out pronunciation. I'm simplifying, but that's the gist.

That said, if one takes a descriptivist view of language, one could argue that the "saki" pronunciation is prevalent enough that it is the English pronunciation of the Japanese beverage.

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On 2/28/2019 at 9:39 PM, snappyjo said:

I do not like how Padma stood in front of Erics' andJustins 'station, and complained about the heat. Why she

a judge. She has no filter and very little class.

She's the eye candy.

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3 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

That's the unfortunate recipe of Reality TV.  There needs to be a "hero" and a "villain".  So when there isn't a defined "hero" or "villain"  (especially villain), us the audience will try to gravitate and make a villain in the cast. 

I feel like the past 4-5 seasons of top chef, there hasn't really been a main villain in general, especially compared to the early seasons (Tiffani, Illan, Betty, Lisa, Mike Isabella etc.) So whoever is the contestant the comes off the tiniest whiny, or have a bit of a bitch face, or feels frustrated is going to get the brunt. 

I do think Kelsey deserved to win, but I realized her basket ingredients were cashews, cabbage, and oranges.  To be honest, it didn't even look like she even higlighted them.

Eric's basket is even harder than I realized.  He had water chestnuts as his ingredient, is also a hard ingredient to highlight.  It doesn't really have a flavor of in itself.

Sara's basket frustrated me, because she could really been creative with Chinese cooking instead of shrimp and grits.  Like  would been awesome to do something like a cauliflower pork dry pot or fusing something like this.

image.png.9096ec9c2b9d71afffc550c3ab1eb7ce.png

Turns out Mike Isabella really was a villain...his restaurants in D.C. are closed and he's up to his eyeballs in legal woes stemming from sexual harassment lawsuits.

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17 hours ago, WendyM said:

I admit I'm not a Sara fan--but I could have sworn in one of her last TH's last week, she said she was looking forward to doing something other than Kentucky food. (Or maybe I just imagined it.) That was why I was a little surprised about the shrimp and grits hot take.

I lived in Kentucky for eight years and never saw shrimp and grits on the menu at any restaurant...I always thought shrimp and grits was a South Carolina specialty.

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21 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Sara is such a wildcard. Can we really say that there is no way she could have a couple good weeks in a row and win the whole thing? All season it seems like she's either been in the top or the bottom. This was the rare week where she was clearly in the middle. 

I mean, that's how Nick Elmi did it...

I've been rooting for Eric from the start and I've liked Kelsey ever she pointed out Southern cuisine's African roots, so I'll be happy with either of them winning. But I also agree there's been no real villain this season, just Sara having a few...lesser moments on camera and Brandon having resting sociopath face.

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1 hour ago, StrictTime said:

I think this season especially points to TPTB wanting Top Chef to be more like The Great British Baking Show.  No villains, supportive contestants, mostly cute, happy people.

Maybe TPTB weeded out the applicants who were obvious divas and found a group that, for the most part, checked their egos at the door!  I've seen some pictures of Justin, Sara and Kelsey doing some cooking together (I think it was at Justin's restaurant in St. Paul,) but I'm not sure what the occasion was.  He referred to Sara & Kelsey as the "Queens of the South!"  I'm sure many of the chefs will stay life-long friends.  I'm a sap for feel-good stories! 

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On 3/1/2019 at 1:28 PM, HurricaneVal said:

Shrimp and grits.  In Macau.  I'm all about unexpected juxtapositions--I like being surprised with new flavors--but that wasn't the point of last night's competition.  Sara is starting to look like a one trick Kentucky pony.

I think if Sara had used a Chinese grain to sub for grits, like make a traditional Congee porridge - but thicker - that could have worked but Miss Kentucky didn't seem to put much effort into infusing her dish with local flavors, she should have been eliminated. I think it's shitty that Adrienne got the cut, she didn't deserve that IMO.

19 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

Eric's basket seemed really difficult.  Lychee is really delicate flavor.   Not to mention, I don't think there is any savory dishes that uses lychee in general.  They are all desserts.  Chinese dishes that uses lychees are usually some drink, pudding, or some fruit cocktail. 

He could have done a play on Sweet 'N Sour sauce with Lychee as a key element, that probably would have worked. Not sure if Lychee would have gotten lost in any curry he made.

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19 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Upon rewatch I get the comments of Padma being crabby.  She was edited that way, at least in too much padma comments and too little Tom and guest judge comments.  I know she thinks she’s the queen of curry but she is Indian and knows Indian curry.....not Ghana, not japan, not any other regional curry.  I get Eric’s comment as well.  I always wonder how these judges would rate certain ethnic foods that are by nature one note.

Heh, Indian curry is my least favorite among the various curries...in order of preference my favs are Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian.

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16 hours ago, gingerella said:

He could have done a play on Sweet 'N Sour sauce with Lychee as a key element, that probably would have worked. Not sure if Lychee would have gotten lost in any curry he made.

Lychee's flavor is VERY subtle and would be overwhelmed with almost anything.  I used to eat them at a Chinese restaurant I went to as a child.  That practice is long gone!  Too bad.

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