MasterChef fans watched on in horror as they said goodbye to a fan favourite, "Dumpling King" Brendan Pang.

Brendan hung up his apron after an intense two-round elimination, but no one was more shocked and saddened by his departure than his friend Reece.

Brendan served up a seafood noodle creation after changing his plan to serve dumplings with at least one ingredient from the five display pantries, which were sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami.

He was outdone by other competitors, including Reynold's duck with pickled beetroot and date puree as well as Tessa Boersma's scarlet prawns.

The end result was emotional for Brendan and his friend Reece, as their banter quickly became a fan favourite on Back To Win.

“Are you more confident now than you were a month ago?” Jock Zonfrillo had asked.

“I doubt myself a lot,” Brendan, who came ninth on MasterChef in 2018, said as his eyes welled.

“It’s really hard coming back for a second time, but you guys have made it worthwhile,” he added with a whisper, desperately trying to fight back his tears.

“Normally we love umami in bucketloads, but on a day that was all about balance, unfortunately, there was one dish that elevated it way too far above the others,” Jock explained when delivering the news.

Responding, Brendan said: “I can’t feel anything right now,” prompting Melissa to issue an emotional farewell.

“You came back to win with a very clear idea of who you are and what you want to cook, and you showed us that in spades.

“We haven’t been standing here very long, but I am 100 per cent sure that we have eaten the best dumplings that this kitchen has ever seen,” she said, adding: “We feel a lot of love for you. You will be missed, and we cannot wait to come and see you when this is over.”

Fans were sad over the departure.

I knew if he went out I’d be sad but ugh I’m just a blubbering mess. We’ll miss your sweet soft spoken commentary and mouth watering dishes @brendan_pang 👏🏽👏🏽 #MasterchefAU @masterchefau

— Shanice (@lostgirl23) June 21, 2020

Can’t believe this is happening. My heart is breaking for Reece and Brendan both. I’m gonna miss seeing this two interacting on my screen, absolutely smashing toxic masculinity and celebrating platonic friendships with every witty banter exchanged #MasterChefAU pic.twitter.com/MlWfbVpuNB

— Fiza Zali (@fizawanders) June 21, 2020

Reece posted a sweet tribute on his Instagram, saying that he was "completely devastated to see you leave tonight".

"Season 10 sisters for life. #audreys," Reece wrote.

"Completely devastated to see you leave tonight however, I know all the amazing things you have going for you back home. Your new cook book has me cooking Chinese every second night and @bumplingsperth 🥟 is the hottest thing in Perth at the moment - cannot wait to come over and have my free dinners.

"So grateful we got to do MasterChef together again - now go kill it!!!!🌈 Slay sis," Reece finished.

Brendan runs a Chinese-Mauritian dumpling restaurant in Perth called Bumplings in Perth and has written a cookbook called This is a Book about Dumplings.