Masterchef Dining & Bar Singapore 2016 (1 Dec 2016 Dinner)

I’ve been watching MasterChef since 2013 when Eugene introduced the series to me.

That was the year Luca Manfe won.

Ever since then, I’ve never missed a season.

When I saw that MasterChef Dining and Bar is coming to Singapore, I was very excited. I remember when I saw the list of chefs coming though it only listed Masterchef Asia’s winner Woo Waileong (yes I watched that when it was on Channel 5) so I decided to wait and see if anyone from MasterChef USA will be coming.

Then! I realised a few weeks back that Luca was coming!! I wasn’t sure at first and commented on his instagram just to check:
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And guess who the other chefs are? Audra Morrice, MasterChef Australia (and judge of MasterChef Asia) and Woo Wai Leong, MasterChef Asia! I watched MasterChef Asia when it aired on TV and honestly it was very apparent which will win.

Anyway, it was only until after the press conference last week that I decided that I had to go. Despite the price, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to try out the food!

I sent the link to Alexis, and she saw that if we could gather 6 people, there would be a discount! Initially, most of our colleagues rejected us as they felt that it was too expensive – luckily, there are some foodies among us (and home cooks) who also knows about MasterChef and came along!

Finally 1 Dec came!
We excitedly went to Intercontinental Hotel Singapore’s Ash & Elm restaurant after work and waited for a while before they let us in. Once we went in we were asked if we wanted sparkling water or wine (both chargeable).

I don’t want to go into much detail, but they had a Mystery box challenge and a contest before the dinner. Audra was the emcee and the chefs introduced their dishes and inspiration for it.

The menu:

Food pictures (in order of the menu)!


Luca’s famouse Rabe Ravioli!


Leong’s dish – very life changing. I will never eat a better pork ever again


Best dessert ever!!

We approached Marco Pierre White (or MPW) first for pictures because Audra, Luca and Leong were busy in the kitchen. We were a bit intimidated at first because… Well he’s the Godfather of chefs. We took only 2 menus for him to autograph after a picture with him and he said, “where are your menus?” so we hurried back to take the rest of them. Haha. He’s extremely nice by the way! At the end of dinner, when we had took pictures and autographs and was walking out, he actually stopped chatting with his friend and came over to thank us and shook all our hands. 👍😊😊

Our group had a long chat with Waileong (which included a small tour of the open kitchen). I think Alexis (being her usual self) drove him crazy hahaha. It was fun though and we gained some tips from him about eating at expensive food places.

Meeting Audra was just inspiring. Especially when all I know about her was from MasterChef Asia’s episodes as well as some reading up after that. Her 2 dishes were 2 outstanding ones and I really hope to be able to get her recipe book someday and cook her dishes.

And finally Luca! Meeting him was just awesome! I gave him 2 tissue paper packs (aka napkins) and he kinda featured the group of us on his Instagram Stories lol
I’ve been a fan of him since MasterChef 2013. He’s the nicest person ever (remember him sharing butter with Jessie?? And garlic?). Even in real life he’s friendly despite the fact that he’s probably jetlagged and very busy.
If it were other MasterChef USA cast, I would most likely not want to go.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I think much better than having fine dining at a restaurant. You won’t be able to take pictures or get an autograph with the chef at a fine dining restaurant! My colleagues had fun too – which made it even better. 🙂 The organizers did well and everything was fun even though I honestly felt intimidated at first.

I wish I’d won some of the autographed recipe books though!

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