aKin is equal parts experimentation, narrative, and an alchemy entirely of its own creation. Eric Chong (Bo Innovation, Buca, R&D) moves beyond fusion into what happens when a chef reassembles the rules of cuisine.

Begin downstairs. At the bar, cocktails carry layers of story. A Negroni runs deep and savory, like the color red with emotional weight. The Happy Hour, capped with stabilized beer foam, starts tropical before closing on darker notes.

On our visit, the meal riffed on dim sum, inspired by Chong’s father’s self-taught mastery. The opening snacks landed with punch: Sunday parlour classics distilled into playful, potent bites. Wu gok came with a delicate taro shell encasing A5 wagyu. Lo bak go appeared as a cone holding dried shrimp sabayon, lap cheung, and daikon. Siu mai turned extravagant, combining Iberico presa, lardo, and pink shrimp.

Char siu means slow-cooked Iberico secreto, grilled and tucked into a one-bite, hand-rolled bao. A nuanced, non-alcoholic tea martini—oolong, verjus, pu’er foam, hibiscus gel—resets the palate midstream.

A prawn meatball, wrapped around a full crab claw, crackled golden and arrived with laksa lemak streaked in curry-leaf oil. You dunk one into the other—crisp, rich, spectacular. The savoury finale: Typhoon Shelter fried rice with Dungeness crab and tomalley, a dish you’ll crave tomorrow.

Dessert is formed into a doll’s teapot, filled with coffee mousse, sponge, caramel, and black tea jelly. A quenelle of milk tea ice cream, fragrant with vanilla rooibos, melts slowly.

aKin is what comes after nostalgia—a place where tradition is preserved, then transformed.