Friends of Tabletop Restaurant Edition: Tom Mukoyama from Kanki Japanese Steakhouse & Tonbo Ramen
Each month, we include clients and people in the restaurant community in a blog series called: Friends of Tabletop, Restaurant Edition. We hope for this monthly series to highlight folks that we admire and love working with + give a little peek into their world and background.
With that being said, we’d love to introduce our January feature, Tom Mukoyama from Kanki Japanese Steakhouse and Tonbo Ramen! Check out our fun Q&A with him.
Tell us about your position at Kanki & Tonbo.
I oversee the overall operations at Kanki. We’re a local family-owned company with three locations. I’m also the managing partner at Tonbo Ramen.
What's your favorite thing about working in the Triangle?
Through the years, I’ve been given the opportunity to meet a lot of guests from all parts of the Triangle and even throughout North Carolina. Some of these guests I met as “young” couples celebrating early dates at Kanki. Now they’re bringing their grandchildren to Kanki!
What's your bar order?
Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned
Do you have a favorite fun/crazy story you'd like to share that happened at the restaurant?
It’s tradition to serve a family style daily meal to the staff. During break between shifts, we would sit down to eat whatever the chef decided to prepare (the chefs would cook anything from fried rice to spaghetti, sushi to fried wings, or whatever inspires them that day). Often, we might have to leave our plate unattended to answer a quick phone call or check in an invoice, etc. As a practical joke, one of the chef’s decided to chop up a handful of Thai chili peppers and mix them into the GM’s unattended plate of food. The GM returned and finished his plate so quickly that those present couldn’t even give him fair warning. Fortunately, he likes spicy food; though, I’ve never removed the image of his face getting so red so quickly…. Sorry Jack! As payback, we played wasabi roulette at all our staff meetings for rest of the year. Basically, the sushi chef would “load” up one piece of sushi with wasabi and then we’d all eat at the same time. It’s funny as long as you’re not laughing with wasabi tears!
What's your favorite dish to eat?
Anything with noodles! I used to tell people that if I had to only eat one dish for the rest of my life then the dish would be some type of spaghetti (my high school superlative stated that I was “Most likely to own an Italian restaurant”)! Any noodle dish, from stir fry to casserole, is always at the top of my list!
What is your least favorite food?
Chicken feet - my fiancé’s family loves them! I’ve been exposed to a wide range of foods from stinky tofu to live seafood; I’ve even eaten a number of bugs. But the feet just seem creepy and “dirty”
Durian fruit ranks a close second!
What's your favorite dish at Kanki & Tonbo?
At Kanki, my favorite dish is the filet mignon and scallop combo. The “surf and turf” is the best of both worlds! Kanki scallops are amazing!
At Tonbo, my go to dish is the tonkotsu ramen bowl. It’s a noodle dish (ding ding) with a rich pork bone broth and served with dumplings and grilled pork belly.
What's your favorite restaurant in the Triangle (other than Kanki & Tonbo)?
Currently, I’ve been hanging out a lot at Namu in Durham. Given their food truck mentality and awesome outdoor garden dining, they seemed to be best suited for the style of dining that the Triangle needs right now to weather the pandemic.
What's the most useful lesson you've learned from being in the restaurant industry?
Patience. When working with the public, you get to see all types of people with all types of demeanor. We’ve made our share of mistakes and we always want to remedy the situation in the best way possible. Some folks are grateful and understanding; some can really test your temperament. I sometimes recite the Star War’s quote: “Patience Padawan…”
Who impacted you the most in your career?
Crazy Eddie Wammack! Eddie was one of the General Managers at Kanki during the time when I was a Head Chef and a GM. Eddie always had a great sense of how to maintain balance with work and family. In our industry, we put in a lot of hours and are often unavailable for traditional family events/holidays. Eddie could make work feel less like work with his upbeat persona and jokester personality. He made everyone feel like one big family. Company picnics/holiday parties were always family friendly; some of his backyard barbeques were made up of his family and many families from Kanki as well. Worktime was worktime and family time was family time, but Eddie had a way of forming relationships that not only made work more efficient but also allowed his family to feel connected.