Team number one: Dong Xuyen Hotel (An Giang)
Chef: Tam Minh Le (captain), Son Thanh Phan, Cau Huu Tieu Hac Nguyen
Party table at the final round of the 2015 Golden Spoon contest
Menu included:
1 - Shrimp cake with almond, soup with scallops;
2 - Goby grouper with vegetarian sauce, fruits served with sandwich;
3 - Grilled lamb chops served with honey and baked mashed potatoes
4 - Sweet soup with lotus seeds and aloe vera
Chef Tam Minh Le and the other two chefs have preserved the typical taste of the South in each dish. Judge Sanh Ly – President of Saigon Chef association commented “Very good” when he gave his judgment to the dish of this team.
Team number 36- Binh Quoi 1 Tourist Area, Ho Chi Minh City
Chef: Duy Vo Anh Le (Captain), Vi Thi Le, Tri Minh Nguyen
Menu:
1- Frog cake, salad with sauteed lobster with Thai basil, mixed with “chẩm chéo”- spicy sauce;
2 - Seafood dumpling cooked with Premna serratifolialeaves and artichoke;
3 - Beef with sauce made of lemongrass seed, fried pork cake, corn cake;
4 - Lotus cake and fruit.
The menu had a proportional balance between the dishes, however it lacked sugar and starch. The dishes were not properly structured, and so appeared messy. It was the comment from Judge Diep Thi Ngoc Do – Director of the Nutrition center in HCM City to the Binh Quoi 1 Tourist area team.
Team number 44- Southern Entertainment Co.Ltd (HCM City)
Chef: Thiet Dinh Dang (captain), Thanh Tran Dang, Khoi Tuan Nguyen
Menu:
1- Crab meat stuffed into “Cà pháo” – a kind of tomato with its science name in Latin is Solanum macrocarpon, grilled seabass with star anise;
2) Noodle with squid and soup with fish and Solanum macrocarpon;
3) Sautee beef with sauce made of red wine, stir-fried mushroom stuffed with boiled vegetables, dumpling with cabbage and mashed onion;
4) French pancake with strawberry
The menu of this team is evaluated as most nutritious and tasty. The noodle with squid was creative but a little bit soft.
Team number 57- Phuong Nam Tourist area (Binh Duong)Chef: Dang Huynh Nguyen (captain), Giang Truong Pham, Cuong Quoc Le
Menu: 1 - Salad with herbs and deep fried crab meat, crab cake, spring rolls with crab meat and durian;
2 - Noodle soup with shrimp and coconut root, soup with lemongrass cooked with clear broth;
3 - Beef tenderloin baked with piper lolot sauce, grilled beef served with mashed potato;
4 - Beetroot cake with sweet potato in the middle and mango sauce
Judge Tam Minh Ta- Meritorious Artist expressed his interest in the dishes made by team number 57: noodle soup with shrimp and coconut root, soup with lemongrass cooked with clear broth
This judge has high appreciation to the dessert
Team number 59- Grand Hotel (Vung Tau)Chef: Tuan Anh Bui (captain), Hai Xuan Nguyen, Chuyen Thi Tran
Menu:
1 - Salad with lotus and shrimp, shrimp cake rolled with cheese, melon flower stuffed and deep fried;
2 - Cabbage rolled sturgeon fish with bell chili and filet sturgeon with sauce made of bell chili;
3 - Duck breast grilled with “hạt dỗi” seeds – Michelia mediocris Dandy - with dragon fruit sauce and mashed potato;
4 - Sweet soup with Malva nut seeds and pandan leaves
Team number 62- My Le Tourist area (Binh Phuoc)
Chef: Binh Phuong Nguyen (captain), Dinh Cong Tran, Kha Duy Nguyen
Menu: 1 - Salad with lobster, sauteed pork rolled crab meat;
2 - Lobster cooked with pineapple, Thai lemon leaves, lotus root served with fresh noodle;
3 - Squid stuffed with pork then grilled, beef rolled baby corn served with taro, butter and sugar; 4 - Sweet soup with green tea and kiwi.
The main ingredient here was lobster, and the spices used throughout the dishes was Thai lemon leaves and fruits. This menu is from Binh Phuoc team and it received good comments in general.
The squid stuffed with pork, beef rolled baby corn served with taro, butter and sugar have very good taste, and used green tea to reduce the heat.
Team number 87 – Palm Garden Resort & SpaChef: Doanh Nguyen (captain), Hau Ut Le, Trung Ngoc Nguyen
Menu: 1 - Pancake with beef, salad with grapefruit and shrimp, spring rolls with crab meat;
2 - Soup with shrimp and “quả chay” - Artocarpus tonkinensis fruit;
3 - Duck breast with crispy skin, sauteed beef and pepper sauce;
4 - pancake with cranberries
Pancake with beef received compliments from the judges, but the salad with grapefruit and shrimp was rather plain
Captain Nguyen Doanh and other two members of Palm Garden Resort and Spa, Quang Nam province had a menu with beef, shrimp and crab as the main ingredients. The judges commented that the menu had a consistent structure, was well organized with appropriate portions, but did not have enough vegetables.
Team number 116- Flamingo Dai Lai Resort (Vinh Phuc)
Chef: Tuan Van Nguyen (captain), Nam Van Tran, Thanh Van Tran
Menu: 1 - Aloe vera rolled fresh squid, fish cake, salad with squid and tamarind sauce;
2 - Seafood with Gac fruit sauce;
3 - Grilled chicken with Zanthoxylum rhetsa seeds and chili with mashed sweet potato and lotus seed;
4 - Rolls with durian sauce and fruits.
The dessert of this team received compliments from the judge and it is one of dishes exuding the typical characteristics of Vietnamese food.
Although all the dishes received many compliments and were beautifully presented not all the teams could win the grand prize. All the chefs knew how to utilize all the ingredients that they had selected from their secret box, as well as the accompanying spices that they bought from the countryside market and the fruits used to decorate the foods.
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