KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 -- "It is, at its core, a Chinese restaurant, but one that borrows freely from the chefs (sic) many experiences... There is no dogma here, no rigid adherence to an imagined past. And in that way, it feels true."

In February, just five months after Restaurant Jie opened, Darren Teoh, chef-patron of two-Michelin-starred Dewakan, featured it in a long, occasionally meandering Instagram post reflecting on authenticity in cooking.

Teoh's post, part rumination on authenticity and part unexpected endorsement, thrust the then-largely unheard-of restaurant, the latest venture from the Tinkermen Collective, into the sights of KL's fine-dining circles.

"We're full tonight," said Wong. "Actually, we've been pretty busy lately ...