Roland Trettl meets Alvin Leung

Roland Trettl in Hong Kong

He had already met him once in Hong Kong and was now looking forward to seeing him again in Salzburg. Moreover, the man is a qualified sound engineer.

It is very rare that I start my Guest Chef column with a dessert. And it is even rarer that I get to talk about a condom in this context. However, neither can be avoided in the case of Hong Kong star chef Alvin Leung, with his signature dessert "Sex on the Beach" providing a central insight into the work and character of the busy Asian.

Without wanting to go into too much detail, Alvin presents a jellied, strawberry juice "condom" on a bed of strawberry cream and crumbled biscuits. Yes, it really is delicious, but that's not what it's about here. Rather, what is much more important to me is the concept behind this dish. Because all the money that Alvin earns from this à la carte dessert goes to the Aids Foundation.

That's Alvin Leung to a tee: ideas, provocation and affront in order to then capture everything in a consensual benevolence. First and foremost, this chef is fundamentally different. As different as one can be as a Chinese person born in London and raised in Toronto, Canada. As different as one perhaps has to be to give up a career as an internationally renowned sound engineer at the age of 45 to suddenly become a self-taught chef.

Alvin Leung's cooking is characterised by local – in other words, Chinese – elements, which he very playfully transforms into either a classic European or an avant-garde European context. It may sound very highbrow, but in actual fact is simple and enjoyable. When Alvin, for instance, lays out a nest made of deep-fried taro roots and fills it with a quail's egg and caviar, it represents a Chinese context combined with a European classic. Or, unequivocally in the Chinese avant-garde molecular scheme of things: an alginate ball made from a pork-soy-ginger extract. It is a real flavour explosion with the texture of a typical local-traditional dumpling.

In terms of both concept and actual appearance, the two dishes are perhaps more "amusing" than anything – but this character is also maintained throughout the menu: playful confetti rather than gloomy intellect.

Alvin Leung is a sensational salesman. And he is a fisher of men. He can talk the lobster on a plate back to life again. But by trade, Alvin is much more of a star than a chef. His wild tattoo, the Robusto-sized cigar that constantly hangs from his lip and his permanent, but always very intelligent, torrent of words make him much more suited to a bar than a kitchen.

This can be contemplated in detail when sitting on the second floor terrace of "Bo Innovation", closely surrounded by sky-high tower blocks, knowing that you'll be bringing a truly exciting person to Salzburg. And yes, before you ask the question, this also applies in Hangar-7: mention Alvin Leung and "Sex on the Beach" is never far behind. Just look forward to, shall we say, a somewhat different dessert.