KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 -- In the Korean enclave of Solaris Mont Kiara, a new face seems to pop up every few months, especially as Malaysian appreciation for more specific, regional specialities from South Korea continues to grow.

One of the newest is Anyang Gamjatang, which opened at the end of last year. Located right next to the popular Korean grocer Kim's Mart, it specialises in gamja-tang, a spicy Korean stew made with pork backbone.

Across the Malaysian food social media ecosystem (a uniquely aberrant phenomenon), gamja-tang is often described as Korean bak kut teh.

From a Malaysian lens, it's easy to see why: both are hearty, porky stews, and both share similar origin stories as cheap, filling fare for labourers.

But the similar...