Top Chef: Holy Macau!

March 1, 2019 10:54 AM - Season 16, Episode 13

The five remaining contestants head to Macau for the beginning of the end of 'Top Chef' season 16.

...told y'all not to sleep on Michelle.

posted by praemunire (9 comments total)

Adrienne no! But really fun dishes all around, cool to see Kelsey win. Really enjoyed her dropping the oh Brandon has chinese cuisine knowledge, of course I didn't tell everyone that tidbit.
posted by Carillon at 12:29 PM on March 1, 2019

The market woman was really cool.

The end had me in suspense, and I'm relieved that it worked out the way it did.
posted by tofu_crouton at 12:57 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

I really liked this one because it really showcased how people who like good food are the same no matter where you are. Bravo seemed like they were really going for the "oh man, they sell congealed blood at this market!!!!!! Grossss!!!!!!!!!" with their advertising for this week's show, and instead all the Top Chef contestants were really jazzed about the cool stuff they could buy, and Kelsey's rapport with the market woman was great. Like, here are two people who are all about the same flavor profile, making faces at each other to indicate what tastes they want to cook with, and having a great time.

I wonder if Sara knew she was haggling during the Quickfire shopping trip? She was buying something from a man who said, "27", and she responded "25?", and then he said "Ok, no problem." It wasn't clear if she was trying to negotiate a lower price or simply didn't hear the price he quoted her!
posted by chainsofreedom at 1:19 PM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

I think Michelle and Kelsey really benefited from trusting their palettes, and in the case of Kelsey, from trusting the vendor. They didn't need to know everything about every ingredient, they just had to know how it tasted.
posted by tofu_crouton at 1:44 PM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

Kelsey's little "mm-HM" lip-purse after the announcement of the Quickfire cracked me up.
posted by praemunire at 3:05 PM on March 1, 2019 [6 favorites]

I like seeing how strategic Kelsey is - like reworking her pork belly plans after she hears what Adrienne is doing. I would love to see her win.

Kelsey really seemed to embody the point of these traveling finales - she has had a clear style all along, and the way she totally incorporated the flavors of Macau into her style was cool to watch.

Padma was SO gorgeous in this episode!

I wonder what Kelsey's market friend cooks when she is at home.
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:13 AM on March 2, 2019

I would love to see a little episode just following that lady around her life for a week. I mean, she runs a market stall, there's got to be a lot of drudgery involved, but I'm sure it'd be interesting.
posted by praemunire at 10:08 AM on March 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'd watch that. I bet the market vendor gossip is also A+.
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:49 AM on March 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

Kelsey Kelsey Kelsey! But yeah, she was great this episode. I've admired her all along but she really shone in this episode. Honestly the food she cooked looked like a hot mess of conFusion, but everyone seemed to enjoy it quite a bit so I guess it worked. She was such a star this episode I think she's set up for a fall now. We'll see.
posted by Nelson at 7:14 AM on March 6, 2019 [1 favorite]