With Washington D.C. a world away, 'Top Chef''s four remaining cheftestants spent last night's penultimate episode in the culinary melting pot that is Singapore.

Being in a foreign land surrounded by exotic ingredients and unfamiliar settings wreaked a bit of havoc on the fearsome foursome, but they overcame the obstacles and turned out some of their best food of the season.

Of course, even creating great dishes couldn't change the rules of the game and, in the end, only three remained to compete in next week's finale. Whose knives were packed -- and why? Read on to get the scoop.

Warning: Spoiler Alert!

"I'm really disappointed that I didn't win," 33 year-old Kelly Liken said when the judges' decision was handed down. "One tiny mistake ends it." And, when it came to Liken's final two dishes, her "tiny mistake" was that the seared prawns in red curry weren't spicy enough for the local palette. (Well, that and perhaps the fact that she sliced her finger open during the final challenge.)

"All of the dishes were amazing," Liken asserted in her exit interview on BravoTV.com. "I can imagine that it was a pretty tough decision for the judges because not one of us [really] messed up."

Indeed, the panel was extremely pleased and hard-pressed to figure out whom to send home. Even the typically persnickety Tom Colicchio was impressed. "Everything we had was really good tonight," he said. "Overall, I thought this was probably the best food we had all season." No small compliment from Mr. Tough Guy.

But, Liken, who's the chef/owner of her eponymous Vail, CO restaurant, could sense that she was on the way out. "By the time we got our feedback from the judges, I knew that it was either myself or Angelo." And, when the judgment was handed down, both were in tears.

So how does the Pittsburgh native, who graduated number one in her class from the Culinary Institute of America, feel about her time on the show? What did she do to prepare for Singapore? And how does she feel about critics who complain this season has been boring? Here's what she had to say:

You'd said your strategy going into the competition was to "cook with my heart" and "constantly remind myself to be me." Did you manage to adhere to that plan throughout the competition?

I think it was difficult, but I think I did. There were times when I slipped up though -- for instance, when I had the salty steak, I had let some comments from judges get into my head and I tried to get more aggressive and bold with my cooking and that was a mistake. But when I did trust my gut and got passionate about how I cooked, it was all good.

Both of the final challenges asked the chefs to focus on Singaporian cooking rather than just include some of the local ingredients in your dishes. Was it tough to express your own style within those parameters?

It was a great challenge for me to cook Singaporian cuisine. I definitely prepared for it in my time between D.C. and Singapore, so I was prepared. It definitely did put a halt on my style of food -- I cook very simple, produce-driven, regional American food, so it was the complete opposite of what I'm used to cooking. But, at the same time, I think I was very successful at using the ingredients and keeping true to [my style of cooking].

You mentioned that you prepared for your time in Singapore. What specifically did you do?

I started researching all the different cultures -- Malaysian, Indian, Chinese, Indonesian -- and I started playing with different spices that I'm not all that accustomed to. That was really fun because it pushed me out of my day-to-day routine. I also researched some of the traditional dishes and put my own twist on them. I did a lot of reading, cooking and playing with ideas.

With all the preparation you did, were you surprised to learn that Kevin had never cooked with a wok? Padma (Lakshmi) certainly seemed shocked.

No, I don't think that any of us had ever used a commercial wok. This isn't your regular at-home Williams-Sonoma-type wok. It's a pretty intense piece of equipment that, unless you work in a Chinese restaurant, most chefs have never used.

Did you feel like Angelo (Sosa) had an advantage because of his experience with Asian food?

I never felt that. I never felt he was my biggest competition either, though. It was actually a disadvantage for him because everyone expected him to excel because of his experience. I think people forget that we're professional chefs with training who can prepare any kind of food well.

We watched you guys eat a smorgasbord of street food from the "Hawker" area. Any favorite?

Definitely the chili crab! I think they call it a mud crab and it looks like a big blue crab. They fry it in a sweet and spicy sauce and you eat it with your hands and it's just delicious.

There's been some editorializing that this season's crop of chefs may not be as exciting as the ones in seasons past. Any comment on that?

Yeah, I've read some of that, and I have to say that we all had great personalities. And I have two ways to answer to that. First, as the competition gets stiffer and the producers and Bravo continue to up the ante on the competition, you get fewer clowns, fewer people who just want to have their faces on television and more serious chefs. The other is that we only see the 45 minutes that ends up on TV and there is a lot that [doesn't make it to air.]

In last night's episode we briefly saw that you cut your finger, but didn't really get the details. What happened, and do you think it affected your final dishes?

Basically, what happened was I just was moving pretty fast and I cut it pretty bad. We always have a medic in the kitchen so they took care of it, but that took some time and I was basically one-handed for the rest of the time. It kind of threw me off my game. We only started with an hour to begin with, so losing a few minutes and being nervous didn't help me.

You said the four finalists got to be really close and that you "think that we'll all be friends for a really long time." Do you still feel that way?

Absolutely. The best part of the 'Top Chef' experience for me was the people that I met and the way those amazing chefs challenged me. It's such a special relationship. I still do keep in touch with all three of the final contestants. And Tiffany (Deery) will be a friend for life, as will Andrea (Curto-Randazzo) -- I think the three of us have a special connection.

Any parting words of wisdom for wannabe cheftestants?

Do what you do. Don't reinvent the wheel. Don't create a new style while you're there. You were chosen for the show because of what you do. Don't change it now.