SINGAPORE — Some may have been wondering what Hong Kong’s self-proclaimed “demon chef” is doing in Singapore’s search for its next hawker star. But if anyone understands culinary innovation and pushing the boundaries, it’s Chef Alvin Leung of the two-Michelin-starred Bo Innovation.

“I know people were complaining that I’m not Singaporean, that I don’t know enough about Singaporean food or hawker food to assess. But I think at the end, I managed to convince them,” he said.

“The thing about a competition is that if you don’t go out of the box, then you better be damn good inside that box. And since this competition is for the country, you don’t want to end up with a mediocre guy — you want somebody who can excel and take hawker food to a new level, or to have people from other countries take notice.

“So you need to have something that’s above the ordinary.”

Chef Leung is no stranger to the island’s most affordable fare either: He visits Singapore six to seven times a year and fills up on the uniquely diverse offerings, particularly Indian food. “I love Indian food; I love the spices, not the heat.”

So how hard is it to innovate hawker fare and still keep it affordable? “You do have a lot of restrictions. But then hawker food is very simple,” Leung asserted. “It’s tasty, it’s comfortable, it’s good value. Your perimeters are smaller, but that doesn’t make it more or less difficult to innovate. Sometimes, something simple is easier. You take a simple bicycle, it’s easy to subject it to innovation and make it impressive. You take a Ferrari — that’s a little more difficult.”

Breakfast: “I always like to go to Little India for a breakfast of chapatti and a simple dhal. There are a couple of famous restaurants right across from Mustafa. And there’s one that serves dhal and that steamed bun made with fermented rice (idli) — that’s one of my favourite breakfasts. It’s tasty, it’s light ... and it has a bit of that sourdough taste. And I love the simplicity of dhal — it’s vegetarian, so it’s all good.”

lunch: “I’m diabetic but I really love laksa, the original one (328 Katong Laksa, 216 East Coast Road, S$5). Or Hainanese chicken rice from Tian Tian (Stall 10/11, Maxwell Food Centre). You are going to have people disagreeing about where you can find the best laksa and chicken. Obviously it’s not the one from Chatterbox because S$10 will only get you a glass of water there! (Laughs) But I think Tian Tian is the place to get good chicken rice.”

Dinner: “For dinner or supper, S$10 gets a little tight, because if you’re eating by yourself, you can only have a couple of small dishes — so you will have to share dishes. There’s a place in Chinatown where you go for liver and congee, especially pork liver (Tiong Shian Porridge Centre, 265 New Bridge). I went to a bak kut teh place the other day that was quite interesting, but I prefer the herbal variety, as opposed to the clear and peppery one.” DON MENDOZA

Catch Wok Stars on Wednesdays, 8pm on MediaCorp Channel 5