Funny, vibrant and known for his inimitable collection of glasses, Alvin remains on a mission to increase awareness of Malaysian cuisine. Born in Kuala Lumpur with Chinese Malaysian heritage, he speaks fluent Cantonese and Hokkien, and from a young age has been passionate about his deep connection to his culture’s heterogenous food. It’s a fascination, to this day, still fuels his ultimate food dream to make Malaysian cuisine as renowned as Chinese or Thai outside his first homeland.
Credentials
Since leaving the MasterChef kitchen, Alvin has cooked in food festivals, modelled, worked with Optometry Australia to raise awareness for vision health and UN Human Rights group in their “StandUp4Migrants” campaign.
Alvin is currently working on a cookbook, doing a collaboration with a spectacles company and completing his degree in communications.
In 1994 Alvin moved from Malaysia to Melbourne, and following his 2010 appearance on MasterChef Australia where he came in sixth place, he became involved with Asian food giant Ayam and Australian Pork as ambassadors. He has hosted cooking shows, showcased his cooking prowess for Good Food and Wine shows nationally and internationally, and hosted the TV series Malaysia Kitchen in 2016.
In 2022, Alvin returns to the MasterChef Kitchen and once again came sixth. While missing out on first place, Alvin still managed to find victory in his time in the kitchen by honouring his Malaysian heritage. “I think it’s so important that I got to do that on national TV,” he says. “As a migrant, I think there’s so many things that come with so many stories that deserve to be told, and to express it through food is even better.”
