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Service starts and the cheftestants immediately start having issues with their wait staff. Things aren’t organized, the wait staff members don’t speak super fluent English, the chefs can’t read their handwriting - considering that they’re cooking everything to order, it’s a total mess.

But soon the judges arrive and it’s game time.

First up, we have Kelly with a chilled cucumber yogurt soup with bitter melon. Tom likes the acid in the dish, Gail loves the yogurt and the hint of heat, Padma likes the use of indigenous ingredients, Seetoh likes the concept of the soup.

Kevin has a clam chowder with flavors of Asia. I think it’s a strange sounding dish but Dana Cowen loves the flavors and so does Tom. Seetoh likes the flavor of the broth.

To finish the first course, Angelo has a spicy shrimp broth with ginger. Dana finds it comforting and yummy, but notes that it’s quite complex. Padma compliments the complexity as well, while Seetoh loves the strong presence of prawn.

The main courses are next and the judges first sample Angelo’s lamb tartare. Dana is blown away because she doesn’t like tartares, but loves this dish. Tom likes it, too, and Seetoh calls it “spot on.”

Ed has a sweet and sour pork, and Dana says one word: “yummy.” Tom says that it’s very good, with flavors from the market, but more refined. Gail loves that there are ingredients from all parts of southeast Asia. Dana wishes that she had a bottomless bowl of the dish.

Wow, Ed is going to win the Elimination Challenge, too, I guess.

Kevin has a strange-sounding dish comprised of a farm egg with pearl tapioca. The egg is apparently difficult to prepare the way Kevin did it, but was done perfectly. Tom likes the flavor, saying that he took a big risk and came out with flying colors.

Finally, we have Kelly’s seared prawns with red curry. Seetoh is in love with the guava in the guava apple salad. Gail says that it’s really complex and that the curry is really “of Singapore.”

We have one dessert and it’s Ed’s banana fritter. Apparently, it’s the best thing of the night. Dana loves it. Gail wants a mountain of them. Seetoh loves it, too, but wishes that he had some coconut ice cream to go along with it.

Sounds like the dinner was a huge success. I’m not sure who’s going home, but I am sure that Ed wins.

As is their custom in the finale, all four chefs are called to Judges Table. Tom says that the dinner tonight was easily the best food of the entire season.

Angelo is complimented on his lamb, with Seetoh saying that it was so smooth, he wouldn’t have known that it was even lamb. Seetoh also loved the intense, brave and bold use of the prawns in the soup. Tom liked the soup, but said it was more like a sauce than a soup. Padma found it too salty, and Gail said that the flavor was so strong that it smacked her in the face (backhanded compliment?).

Seetoh loved the yogurt and cucumber soup, saying that the flavor exploded in his mouth. Tom, on the other hand, thought that the fish was not handled well during preparation, saying that the texture was off. Gail liked her red curry, but wished it had more heat. Again, Seetoh goes crazy in talking about her guava apple salad, saying that he’s going to copy it. Kelly looks happy, but not super happy at hearing that.

Ed is walking up and down Praise Avenue with the judges. They loved everything. He’s so clearly the winner. Tom calls his banana fritter “perfect stoner food,” which he says is a compliment. Gail only had one criticism of his banana dish: she wanted six but only got two.

Gail loved the elevated quality of Kevin’s clam chowder, though Seetoh wanted more heat. Padma loved the farm egg, with Tom noting the risk he took in making it. Overall, they’re very complimentary towards him.

I think Angelo goes home and he agrees with me. Kelly, on the other hand, thinks that her time in Singapore is up.

The chefs come back out to hear their fates. They were supposed to put a twist on the food of Singapore and they succeeded. Seetoh says that they picked a winner, but that they had to resort to microscopic detail to figure out which chef was hands down the best. And it’s…Ed. Wow, that had absolutely no suspense.

Tom notes that it’s tough that these remaining three chefs had to come all the way around the world, only to have one go home. Kelly put a great twist on her dishes, but the fish was grainy. Kevin made a fantastic clam soup and finished with a homestyle dish, though it needed some texture. Angelo made two dishes; one was too salty but the other was a surprise that stunned all the judges.

And…it’s Kelly going home. Sigh. I was really rooting for her to win. I started the season not liking her, but she eventually won my admiration, and then my support. I’m really sad to see her go.

Angelo immediately starts crying and Kelly gives him a hug. “Stop that,” she says chidingly with a smile. She goes up to thank the judges for allowing her to take part in the competition. When she tells them “Thank you for all your feedback, I’m a better chef because of it,” she starts to get choked up and starts crying. It’s really sad.

And all of a sudden, we’re onto the finale. For the second year in a row, we have all men in the finale. I’m rooting for Angelo to win this thing, but I’ll be satisfied as long as Ed doesn’t win.

He’s such an a-hole.

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