For the cooking competition fans, most of you is undoubtedly aware that MasterChef Malaysia is now in full swing on Astro in the following time slot:

  • Astro Ria (104): Saturday to Wednesday 9 pm
  • StarWorld (711): Thursday 9:50pm
  • Website: www.astro.com.my/masterchef

Masterchef Malaysia

For the uninitiated, MasterChef Malaysia is the reality cooking competition that was originally started in the UK and now found its way in dozens of countries. Participants in MasterChef are not professional chefs but everyday people who aspire to venture into culinary industry, or who just really enjoy cooking, people like you and me.

This is the first time we have MasterChef competition it in Malaysia

p/s: there was also a Bloggers’ Masterchef Challenge  where I was involved as a judge *bow*

MasterChef contestants

As of writing, there were only 19 contestants still vying to be the first ever MasterChef Malaysia.

There are several things to like in MasterChef Malaysia as compared to other cooking shows. First and foremost, of course, this contests involves everyday people who are just like you and me, and they are all local.

masterchef skills tests

Secondly, you can also learn a lot from this show. Not only from the recipes that can be found on the website, but also some of the skills you can learn from the skills tests as well. The proper way to separate egg white from egg yolk, the way to dice onions, etc.

Finally, MasterChef exudes a very positive environment where learning is encouraged and there isn’t any showboating or stabbing at the back like you would find in many other reality show. There are even tasks where contestants have to work together in teams to get through to the next round.

To me, this is much better than those ME FIRST attitude that is found in other shows.

Chef Kenny and Chef Johari

My favorite chefs from MasterChef are Chef Kenny and Chef Johari. If you’re old enough, you might remember the Baba and Nyonya show (Big Bibik) on TV from eons ago where Chef Kenny was always in drag. I actually didn’t know that Chef Kenny is a chef until I watched the episod featuring him as a guest chef, what a surprise.

Chef Johari almost always encourages the contestants and basically the polar opposite of personalities like Simon from Ameirican Idol. I think with that’s going on in the world, we can have a little less nasties these days. Furthermore, Chef Johari is the most senior of all chef on the judges panel.

Masterchef contestant Felix

As for my favorite contestant, it’s gotta be Felix Tay, who shares the same home town with me – Penang!

I think the guy has got a really good shot at becoming the very first MasterChef Malaysia, and you can’t fault me for supporting a my own hometown boy who has shown flashes of skills in the MasterChef kitchen.

Felix's chili invention test

Which brings us to my favorite dish at MasterChef Malaysia thus far – Felix’s dish in the chili invention test. The judges all loved this dish, and what intrigued me in this dish is the ingredients used - guacamole sauce as the bed, fish, and plenty of chili. I’ve never had guacamole with something spicy before and this really looks interesting, don’t you think?

unforgettable masterchef moment

One moment that stood out at MasterChef Malaysia, for me, was the onion challenge in the first round. The situation was very similar to the same challenge that happened in the blogger’s masterchef challenge version – a lot of people accidentally cut their fingers, crying from cutting onions, and then of course, the very first few people who were eliminated at the end of the first episod.

Ultimately, what I want to see from MasteChef Malaysia is how the winner progresses in the culinary field here in Malaysia, will he/she open a restaurant? or have a cooking program on TV? changes entire career path?

And more importantly, will I be invited to have a taste of the winner’s cooking ultimately? 😀

We can only wait, but in the mean time, MasterChef Malaysia is running a facebook contest starting on the 19th of November, 2011. Be sure to take part on https://apps.facebook.com/masterchefmy

 

There’s weekly prizes of RM 500 and 4GB MasterChef pendrive, and final prizes of iPad, induction cooker, cash, and more! Do check it out.

Good luck!

What I like about MasterChef Malaysia
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14 thoughts on “What I like about MasterChef Malaysia

  • November 23, 2011 at 11:57 am
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    wah i like the last picture with the onions flowing out

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    • November 23, 2011 at 1:51 pm
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      eiling: haha yah, chop till daiiii

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  • November 23, 2011 at 12:15 pm
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    to deal with that much of onions. gosh. even peeps like me who cut onions almost everyday also cannot tahan!

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    • November 23, 2011 at 1:51 pm
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      Michelle: and I never did like chopping onion, at all. lol.

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  • November 23, 2011 at 1:15 pm
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    Don’t like Masterchef Malaysia because Chef Riz is a fake and Astro should have been penalised for posting a fake CV of Chef Riz on the Masterchef website.

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    • November 23, 2011 at 1:52 pm
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      Kevin: I believe he did make an apology and subsequently the CV issue has been corrected though.

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  • November 23, 2011 at 1:30 pm
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    if there’s any malaccan in the competition, i guess i’d surrender to hometown pride and support that competitor too (at least initially)! 😀

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    • November 23, 2011 at 1:52 pm
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      Sean: ALL THE WAY! why initially? hahah.

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  • November 24, 2011 at 11:26 pm
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    I always use the bowl and plate method to separate egg yolks as a kid when I used to bake. Crack egg into plate, put bowl over yolk, drain away egg white. Haha.

    Works, but isn’t as fancy as that above.

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    • November 25, 2011 at 12:37 am
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      Huai Bin: haha so long as it works I guess, any method is fine.

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  • November 26, 2011 at 9:17 pm
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    Hi, I think it’s just really degrading for the contestants to cook Maggi Mee. Seriously? How do you think Gordon Ramsay will react if he finds out we’re using instant noodles as an ingredient???

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    • November 27, 2011 at 8:27 am
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      Not a chef: i think the fascination of maggie mee is uniquely Malaysian, and anyone who’s been away from home (attending college etc) has a fond memory with maggie mee, so why not use it as an ingredient in the competition?

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  • November 29, 2011 at 9:29 pm
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    Watching this as much as I could (still prefer the 2 episode/week format that the Americans do), but I’m not that kind of diehard fan.

    I have to give the Chinese people props for not sounding so pelat when speaking Malay.

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    • November 29, 2011 at 9:33 pm
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      synical: well we are all Malaysians 🙂

      Reply

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