photo: bravo
Dim Sum Lose Sum
Original Air Date: Jan 5, 2011
Ryan O – Two Cents Reviewer
ryano@thetwocentscorp.com
The highlight of this episode might’ve been watching Tom cook a dish as part of the Quickfire. The lowlight, at least for the cheftestants, was the entire Elimination Challenge. They cook dim sum in a Chinese restaurant and it goes pretty poorly for the group as a whole. Also, a chef who performed very well last time around has turned into that person that everyone thinks should’ve gone home a few episodes ago. Guess who it is or just keep reading.
Quickfire: Tom will cook a dish and then the cheftestants will have to cook the dish in that amount of time or less. He cooks some black sea bass with tomatoes, zucchini, and clam juice in 8 minutes and 37 seconds. The chefs don’t have to make the same dish but that’s how much time they have. The winner will get immunity and a new Prius.
Here’s what everyone made:
Antonioa: seared ahi tuna, tarragon and fresh tomato salad
Richard: foie gras roasted with aromatics, corn, fresh coriander, and port
Tiffani: New England clam chowder with celery and cream
Fabio: clams, fish, zucchini, tomato broth, thyme, and garlic
Angelo: yuzu branzino crudo with jalapeno and cilantro (raw fish in spite of Tom advising against doing a raw dish)
Tiffany: pan-seared bass with tomato relish, olives and capers
Tre: grilled beef tenderloin, seared foie gras with mushrooms and brandy sauce
Carla: shrimp with mango, cilantro, and mint
Dale: Pad Thai with egg noodles (he failed completely though and his dish is both messy and mostly empty)
Casey: spice-rubbed filet and fresh tomato relish
Marcel: black sea bass (he used the rest of Tom’s fish) with dashi broth, bok choy and chili oil
Mike: pan-roasted branzino with black olive and caper stew
Jaime: clam amuse-bouche with bacon, tomato, and cream
Bottom 3: Dale didn’t get the noodles done. Jaime made “almost a dish” since most of her clams were left in the pot. Angelo gets dinged for doing exactly what they didn’t want him to do — make a raw dish.
Top 3: Mike gets credit for developing a lot of flavors. Tom liked Richard’s sauce and the dish overall, too. Tom tells Marcel that making dashi in eight minutes was a feat.
Mike wins and gets immunity and the new car. Nice reward for 8:37 worth of work.
Elimination Challenge: They’re headed to Chinatown and taking over Grand Harmony, a dim sum restaurant. They’ll be in charge of making a multitude of dim sum dishes for the lunch rush.
Everyone seems to be running behind in their prep work. Mike is expediting the service while Carla and Casey are serving.
Guest judge Susur Lee, who was, among other things, a cheftestant on Top Chef Masters.
Here’s what everyone made:
Tiffani: cabbage, cilantro, and sesame salad with crispy curry chicken
Fabio: soy honey glazed spicy pork rib
Carla: vegetable summer roll with lemongrass dipping sauce
Angelo: shrimp and pork spring roll
Marcel: boneless chicken wing with scallion mayonnaise
Gail enjoyed Angelo’s spring roll. Padma thought Fabio did a great job with the ribs. Marcel’s boneless chicken wing is bland. Susur likes Tiffani’s salad dressing but Gail doesn’t like that her dish is all sesame. Carla’s roll is beautifully wrapped but the only flavor is the rice noodles.
Service seems to be going pretty slowly as people are not putting their dishes out very quickly.
Jaime and Antonia: long beans with Chinese sausage
Dale and Angelo: cheung fun with xo shrimp (it looks sort of like a spring roll)
Dale: sweet sticky rice with Chinese bacon wrapped in a banana leaf
Tiffany: spicy pork with vegetables on a steamed bun
Tre: orange ginger dessert with fresh water chestnuts, toasted pine nuts and Thai basil
Tom liked the cheung fun even though it was very spicy. Everyone likes Dale’s sticky rice. Susur says the long beans are greasy and Padma says the beans are overcooked. Tom and Susur both say Tiffany’s steamed bun tastes great and authentic. Tre’s dessert is roundly panned as being runny and not cold enough.
Tom goes down to the kitchen and tells the chefs to speed up since no one is producing food quickly enough.
Casey: Chinese chicken feet and scallion pancake
Antonia: shrimp toast with pickled scallions and mushrooms
Mike: pork and prawn dumplings with spicy soy sauce
Jaime: scallop dumplings with water chestnuts and Chinese chives.
Susur thinks Mike’s dumplings are too salty. Padma likes Antonia’s shrimp toast. Susur says the chicken feet haven’t been cooked in oil that’s hot enough. Padma notices that dinners aren’t eating them. Jaime’s dumpling needed more scallop in them.
For Judges Table, Padma wants to see Casey, Antonia, Carla, Jaime, and Tre. (TWIST! Losers first!)
Jaime gets hammered for her dumplings and cooking the long beans. Antonia takes heat for her portion of the long beans. Casey hears about her chicken feet not being good. Tom says the pancake wasn’t light. Antonia takes responsibility for making Casey’s dish when Casey was serving. Tre is told his dessert didn’t work at all. Gail says Carla got caught up with making them dainty.
Tiffany, Dale, Angelo, and Fabio had the best dishes.
Susur praises Fabio for making such great ribs, especially when Fabio had no experience with Chinese cooking. Tiffany is told her pork bun was really great. Dale’s sticky rice was terrific according to Tom. Padma and Gail both loved Angelo’s spring roll.
Dale wins! (Yeah, but no car or anything.)
The judges debate who should go home. Jaime’s dumpling wasn’t good nor were the long beans but she does get credit for doing two dishes. Antonia’s shrimp toast was really good but the long beans weren’t. Tre’s dessert was a nightmare. Casey’s chicken feet are declared a disaster. Carla’s roll is called bland and a waste of calories.
Casey is told to pack her knives. I was surprised and I wasn’t alone. In her post-exit interview, she says she, and everyone else — including Jaime, expected to hear Jaime’s name.
Next Week: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
What did you find to be tasty in this episode? Did you think anything was overdone? Give us your Two Cents below!
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