Demon at your table (+recipes)

Paul Jobin. Photo / Supplied.

Since I was a kid I have followed the onscreen careers of martial arts legends Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, both of whom upped sticks from their vibrant home city of Hong Kong for American stardom.

Hong Kong's culinary legends do the reverse. Alvin Leung, a short-sleeve wearing, tattoo-bearing engineer turned chef, was born in London and raised in Toronto, but now calls Hong Kong home.

Known as the Demon Chef, his Hong Kong restaurant Bo Innovation has been awarded two Michelin stars - though that was recently cut back to one.

Leung is regarded by his peers as Asia's most creative chef. Bo Innovation's menu changes regularly with his unique brand of extreme cuisine, fusing centuries-old Chinese recipes with modern ingredients and cooking techniques to offer much lighter and refreshing dishes.

He has managed to break down long-held preconceptions of what Chinese food should look and taste like. Besides his infamous dish titled "sex on the beach", proceeds from which go to AIDS Concern, the menu features new extravagant Chinese ingredients such as caterpillar fungus (a parasitic relationship between the fungus and the larva of the ghost moth), Tibetan yak cheese, fu yu (fermented bean curd) and Kyoho grapes.

The more traditional cuisine of Hong Kong, however, can be traced back to colonial days of 1841, and is a melting pot of British and Guangzhou cooking.

Considered to be an eating venue for the less affluent, hawker centres or open-air food complexes are typically found near public housing estates or transport hubs and host many stalls selling a variety of inexpensive food governed by strict hygiene laws. The Chinese casual dining style of these Dai Pai Pong, serving mostly Teochew and Cantonese fare, are fast attracting tourists as word gets out that this is where the locals dine on youtiao (fried bread stick), wonton noodles and siu mei (spit-roasted meat).

But many of the most interesting meals in Hong Kong are served behind closed doors. Private kitchens are all the rage, helping chefs skirt the city's strict restaurant licensing. Photographer and extensive traveller Andrea Oschetti opens his own home to up to 10 diners at a time holding periodic themed dinners; or you could try an Italian-cooking course or a gastronomic tour of Hong Kong, with a stop at Bo Innovation for Leung's $1580HK ($272) chef's table menu.

- Alvin Leung is in New Zealand on October 30 for Peter Gordon's Dining for a Difference at SkyCity, Auckland. Twelve chefs from New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and London will cook for the black tie event with all proceeds going to the Leukemia Blood Foundation. For details visit leukaemia.org.nz.

Chinese XO sauce
Chicken chow fun noodles