Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef - Gawker Comments

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

antisocialite — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:39:31 EDT

@TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim: Singular = parenthesis

antisocialite

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 03:06:12 EDT

Misspelling (curiosity): also a missing parenthese.

Damn it's so good to be a (former) gangsta copy editor!

TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:56:43 EDT

I don't have TV -- so can't say much (other than the "I'm so glad I Don't have TV" part.

Only curiousity: can he do a good 'hung-er' steak?

Hope so... otherwise I might have to subtract the hyphen!

I'll live.

TimeWarnerRhymeAnaheim

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

haricot — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:09:26 EDT

It's unfortunate that Casey felt she had to spend hours talking about what went wrong and what she tried to do to make it better rather than to discuss the great parts of her meal. She shouldn't have tried to explain or apologize. The guys for the most part certainly weren't.

I think that would have made a big difference in how we viewed her later.

This is why nice girls don't get the corner office.

Don't apologize! Don't explain! They don't care. Talk about how awesome your food is, because it really is.

haricot

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

hominaray — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:01:31 EDT

Glad Hung won, but kind of disappointed Hung got into that whole "heart and soul" contest. He should have just called everyone a retard instead.

hominaray

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

dcunstrukt — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:40:31 EDT

@Bittergreen: But it also depends on who the "hawk" lands on though. A kid at an Exploited show, or some thirty-something Chicago girl-chef? Faux is more a description of the roots rather than the gel.

dcunstrukt

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

lalalina — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:19:06 EDT

1) i like padma now that i know she's a stoner and a sucker for alcohol in the morning, and i like hung for playing up to it.

2) i also like that he's an unapologetic elitist who made a wacko smurf village out of cereal one time, and pretended to take it seriously.

3) i also like hung because honestly, sometimes the people who "get along with everybody" are a little bit boring and dumb.

4) rocco is hot! i know, i don't feel good about it either.

lalalina

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Trackback — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:18:01 EDT

Everyone everywhere is a-buzz with Hung Huynh's big win on Top Chef last night. We do the work so you don't have to.

Trackback

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

sunflowerpsychy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:17:10 EDT

yummmmm rocco! Made the sure worth watching

sunflowerpsychy

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

OhBilly — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:15:25 EDT

@jack-of-all-trades: Harold?! You think he's a guy that gets on everyone's nerves?! For shame.

OhBilly

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

mandarin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:59:38 EDT

Its a cooking contest not a modeling contest...
Yes that model/cookbook writer who used to be married to Salman Rushdie shouldnt be a judge in a cooking contest.

mandarin

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

bittergreen — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:26:31 EDT

@dcunstrukt: Isn't Dale's haircut and actual mohawk. A fauxhawk is that kind of hairstyle where can you push all to the middle but if still go to work the office job on monday morning.

bittergreen

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

jack-of-all-trades — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:10:07 EDT

I'm sensing a pattern.

Season 1: Guy-that-gets-on-everyone's-nerves wins
Season 2: Hipster-with-a-mohawk wins
Season 3: Guy-that-gets-on-everyone's-nerves wins

By that logic, typecasting for Season 4 will pre-determine the winner (sorry, Belligerant-Italian-guy, Easy-to-forget-country-bumpkin, Lesbian, and Attractive-yet-accessible-girl).

jack-of-all-trades

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Duffman — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:55:18 EDT

Does anyone else think that Padma is not a credible judge of food? No one that skinny should be allowed to review food. I get the same creepy bulimic vibe from Giada Di Laurentis.

Give me Gail Simmons any day of the week. That chick is HOT in a squinty, stout kinda way.

Duffman

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

LupeDeVolga — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:44:05 EDT

I thought Padma's live show performance was perfect considering we learned this season her favorite food is alcohol. That alone would have made me love her but the lifesaver or altoid or whatever stuck in her cheek when she delivered the winner won her a spot in my heart forever.

Dale was all right but I am so relieved he lost. No one with a mohawk should win anything but my kick in their shins for a while. I want a moratorium on mohawks and faux hawks. A hawkatorium.

I too found Rocco oddly appealing in last night's episode and was unsettled by that.

LupeDeVolga

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

I Don't Get It — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:35:39 EDT

@AndIAmTellingYou: You lost me, and most of my lunch, on this whole string when I pictured Dale in bikini underpants and silk kimono. Well done, all of you.

I Don't Get It

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

jadedperson — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:28:20 EDT

Padma bugs me. Throughout nearly all the episodes she had this sinister/poker face and once she got to Aspen she became Ms. Smiley. She musta snared some post-Rushdie ass at the Little Nell...

jadedperson

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Debussy Fields — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:13:35 EDT

@jobbotch: Right on about the 11th hour sellout. A few weeks ago my wife said that Hung would be this season's Marcel. And while not quite as fingledorpingly plast-ass as all that, lil' wolverine (now with beard!) did leap up to congratulate Hung. Gail got sloppy seconds.

Debussy Fields

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

scaredykat — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:10:06 EDT

It's hard not to root for a miniature Vietnamese bisexual who doesn't play well with others. I was with him until his final course…chocolate molten cake?! How could an elitist foam-master fall back on such a T.G.I. Friday's dessert? He should've just gone full force and had Sara whip up a Cinnabon Cheesecake.

[www.project-me.com]

scaredykat

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

suburbancowboy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:05:59 EDT

Boy that Hung can butcher chickens.

suburbancowboy

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

AndIAmTellingYou — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:03:25 EDT

@karion: Later, down and out, CJ whips out the uniballer in a pickup truck in a stip mall parking lot for loose change.

AndIAmTellingYou

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

iantenna — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:02:49 EDT

@Debussy Fields: ack... i got the star wars dvd box not too long ago (with the two ewok movies, thank you very much) and in addition to all the bullshit they added about 10 years ago they had the balls to replace that crusty dude that played darth with hayden fucking christensen in that final scene. fuck you for bastardizing my childhood george lucas, i know where you live!

iantenna

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

lawyergay — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:54:31 EDT

I have to say that I was kind of on the fence until Dale LIED about that scallop dish that one-nutted, Padma-luvin', tall-drink-o'-water C.J. made for him as his "fourth course" during judge's table. He's a liar! With an unsavory fauxhawk!

lawyergay

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

elizabethm — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:46:04 EDT

JDS, your biting funny prose just leaps off the page at me - I love it, it's a great read. I haven't even been watching this season's Top Chef beyond a random 3 or 4 episodes. I've instead looked forward to catching up via the Gawker recaps.

In any case, I have been in Hung's camp all the way, ever since that one episode where Tom told him to be careful, and to stop running around all psychotic and anxious while carrying stabby utensils. Viva le Hung!

elizabethm

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

bellethellama — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:42:56 EDT

@ceejeemcbeegee: I really didn't mind the live segment because they controlled when the winner was announced. And anything they showed was still so much better than the live finale of The Next Food Network Star, where the loser had to be quickly shuttled off-stage due to her hysterics.

Loved that Hung won--since Tre was booted too soon (but for good reason, as he did screw up) I started pulling for Hung. I lost a lot of respect for the other contestants as soon as they started whining about how Hung wouldn't help anyone else--it's a competition, kids. Get over it. Though Casey was talented, she always came off as snobbish to me, ever since she felt it necessary to explain what an amuse bouche is to us uneducated folks. Hung was an unapologetic elitist, and I salute him for that.

bellethellama

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Chief Wahoo — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:42:27 EDT

Good for Hung, he deserved it. I knew Casey was DOA when she showed up on the mountain wearing those hideous oversized rhinestone sunglasses straight from 1980. Remember, people, she lives in Dallas. Texas.

Chief Wahoo

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Joshua Stein — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:36:46 EDT

@ClassicTidy: wrong brush during quick mask.

Joshua Stein

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

jobbotch — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:36:19 EDT

It's kind of compelling how Hung's eleventh-hour lunge for "soul" (lemongrass, coconut and tamarind in one menu after a full season of cooking French) was the coldest, most calculating thing he could have done. And yet it was the very thing the judges have been pushing on him - "Be more Asian, damn it!" Authenticity equals sellout.

jobbotch

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

the rat — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:36:11 EDT

Boobs did not know how to chop an onion. She had no reason to make it that far other than to wear bikinis and tight t-shirts.

the rat

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

karion — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:35:21 EDT

@LolCait:

And then maybe Bourdain could have whipped out a gun and restored order.

karion

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

antisocialite — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:30:30 EDT

@ceejeemcbeegee: Hmm, interesting point. Still, Bravo could have produced the segment themselves instead of having a local high school A/V squad handle it.

antisocialite

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

id versus — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:28:22 EDT

Reality television has taken over scripted; tabloid press is getting increasing exposure on traditional news outlets; social networking and massively multi-player gaming has comfortably entered the mainstream.

I'm frightened with how easily we settle into these new shells, we shadows to the entertainers who dazzle with pomp bourgeois. I'm guilty of it, too.

id versus

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Colonel Mustard — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:26:11 EDT

I'm actually really glad I found this out before I watched the episode. I am totally, vehemently anti-Hung, and I will enjoy the hour of my life much more watching the goshawful Bionic Woman.

Colonel Mustard

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

CherriSpryte — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:24:01 EDT

@Shanghaibaby: No, they totally were. As if, immediately after eating The Last Supper, they all hopped on jets and flew to that odd soundstage in Chicago, filled with the contestants' family and friends. Despite the fact that the Aspen Food and Wine Festival was in June.

CherriSpryte

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

ceejeemcbeegee — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:22:54 EDT

@iwn2000: Considering last years' winner was spoiled because Ilan quit his job 2 days before he was announced as the winner, I'd say the "live" segment served it's purpose: it put Bravo in control of it's own tv show.

As much as I wanted Casey to win, she totally blew it. For a minute, I thought Dale might pull out the win. I'm glad he's a better person for this competition, but Hung was clearly the most consistent and technically gifted chef. Soulless or not.

ceejeemcbeegee

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Itsjustcatnip — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:22:39 EDT

Soul vs technical: in the town my Pa works in (LSD capitol of the world!), the food you're served is greatly dependant on whether the chef had a good trip or a bad trip the night before. Even at it's worst it's better than TGIF.

Itsjustcatnip

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

winowino — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:21:50 EDT

I am glad that I did not completely hallucinate the Gail Simmons/Hung embrace. Yet another reason why she needs to be on the damn show more often. MAKEOUTZ.

winowino

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

antisocialite — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:20:13 EDT

@AndYourLittleDogToo: That was totally lame. It reminded me of how they used to (and perhaps still do) pull that for the finale of 'Survivor,' with all the castaways dressed in their raggedy tribal gear, except it's being shot months later in the studio and they've gained back all their weight and are wearing tons of pancake makeup. The effect was more distractingly grotesque than anything else.

antisocialite

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

LolCait — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:19:36 EDT

@karion: While Dale sang "Sister Christian."

LolCait

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

dcunstrukt — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:18:54 EDT

I feel like Isaiah Washington saying this, but I cheered on Hung to win over douchey Dale. As a gay man, I can't support the "mid life crisis faux hawk" on a fellow homo. Just like in any other contest with a gay in it, talent doesn't matter, hair does.

dcunstrukt

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

karion — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:18:10 EDT

If he lost, I was kind of hoping Hung would lose it and wander about the judges' panel, tossing lit firecrackers.

karion

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

ClassicTidy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:17:44 EDT

I'm having trouble getting past that weird crap photoshop job. Why are his edges all fadey like that?

ClassicTidy

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

antisocialite — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:17:23 EDT

@LolCait: Teddy Ruxpin: HA!

antisocialite

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

shanghaibaby — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:15:38 EDT

Am I delirious or were the judges wearing exact same outfits on the last taped segment and the 'live' broadcast? Lame. Oh, yeah and that prawn dish...ew.

shanghaibaby

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

thejessabides — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:13:40 EDT

Surprise! The villain won in the first finale where they expanded the field because the "quality was so good this season." Top Chef is edible Project Runway last season.

@Dweeb: SERIOUSLY! That dress was heinous.

thejessabides

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

MsMuffinMcGuffin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:12:44 EDT

@iwn2000: I agree. Not a single close-up of the family and friends? What was the point?

MsMuffinMcGuffin

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

gaynyernbama — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:12:11 EDT

I am not a fan of his ugly face.

gaynyernbama

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

mathnet — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:11:41 EDT

Even though Hung won, I had a hard time watching the finale last night. Rocco just didn't live up to my expectations of annoyance, and I'm still feeling confused about that.

mathnet

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

TheOtherOtherGuy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:11:27 EDT

How uncomfortable was the whole Padma **LIVE** bit? And why was the live telecast so blurry? Eh, blame Micah.

TheOtherOtherGuy

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

heartbreakturnip — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:11:02 EDT

.... Pazzi Chapel in Florence, which happens to be surrounded by Gothic buildings, making the contrast that much more evident.

heartbreakturnip

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

AndYourLittleDogToo — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:10:56 EDT

@iwn2000: Did you notice that during the live section the judges were all wearing the same outfits they wore during the pre-taped segment? Were we supposed to believe that this was all part of the same day?

Also, kudos for Casey for being so upfront about the fact that she obviously lost.

AndYourLittleDogToo

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

What it is — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:10:41 EDT

@Cheap Shot: really? the whole season I just thought his name had the saddest irony. oh, who am I kidding, just funny irony.

What it is

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

narymary — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:09:14 EDT

Hung is just annoyance in human form. No wonder douchebag guy from Season 2 loves him so much.

narymary

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

heartbreakturnip — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:08:47 EDT

I think the comparison you're reaching for is between the high Gothic and its reliance on increasingly elaborate mathematics (all the better to give glory to God) and the triumph of the human in the early Renaissance architecture of places like the

heartbreakturnip

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

dweeb — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:08:21 EDT

@katastic: or coconut foam.

dweeb

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

dweeb — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:07:06 EDT

Crystal Gayle awoke to find Padma walking around in her bedroom nude, except for that dress.

dweeb

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Max Silvestri — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:06:51 EDT

There goes Dale's endorsement deals with Ben Sherman short-sleeve shirts and Fudge Matte Hed styling paste.

The only cargo in his pockets now is disappointment.

Max Silvestri

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

wigglepuppy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:06:23 EDT

i LOVE that you guys noticed the weird fakeout kiss!!! what was that anyway??? although i liked casey the best, personality-wise, i think the best chef did win

wigglepuppy

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Debussy Fields — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:06:02 EDT

When Sara, CJ and Howie showed up smiling, I couldn't help being reminded of the end of Return of the Jedi when the ghosts of Yoda, Obi Wan and Annakin/Darth reappeared to beam on life beyond them. But the end of Star Wars was like Triumph of the Will, so...
100% 50/50.
The circle is complete.

Debussy Fields

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

lionel-mandrake — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:05:14 EDT

Also, Hung busts his ass the way only a child of immigrants can. Soul is for the bourgeoisie. People like Dale-looking for their "inner chef", whatever the fuck that is.

But, leave it to Hung's children to name-check their Dad's Hmong heritage and mispronounce the equivalent of "Coq Au Vin".

lionel-mandrake

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

SharonTaint — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:04:35 EDT

Dale's menu made more sense. That chocolate cake thing was ridiculous. Hung is ridiculous.

SharonTaint

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

LolCait — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:04:29 EDT

The quote of the evening had to be Ted Allen saying to Teddy Ruxpin, er, Dale, "Oh, you're a very decadent boy, aren't you?" It was glorious, squeamish television.

I mourn for Casey and for CJ's lost ball.

LolCait

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

antisocialite — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:04:15 EDT

Um, sure, but more important, what was up with that totally unnecessary, poorly lighted, non-excitement-building "live from some windowless basement with some high school bleachers" finale? It looked like it was shot on camcorder, and what was the point of having everyone's family and all the past contestants if they didn't even show them in close up? It was like daytime TV, but, you know, worse.

antisocialite

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

katastic — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:04:08 EDT

thank god. i hate it when the 'nice' person wins. 'nice' don't make sauce, bitches.:)

katastic

Hung Huynh (And the Enlightenment) Wins Top Chef

Cheap Shot — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:02:18 EDT

Insert 'well hung' jokes below.

Cheap Shot