Sean Tan, manager of the highly successful ‘Meshiya Japanese Restaurant’ at QV Square, shares with us the intricacies of running a busy restaurant, and how his early exposure to cuisine has led him to this industry.

How long have you been a manager at Meshiya for?
I have been a manager at Meshiya for three and a half years.  I actually started working there as a casual hall staff two and a half years earlier whilst completing my full time studies at RMIT in Economics and Finance. Upon the completion of my course I was promoted to management straight after.

What do you like about managing the restaurant?
I like the fact that we work with staff from various nationalities – Malaysia (myself included), Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia. 

I also like the fact that you deal with customers from ‘all walks of life’.  Basically in the hospitality industry ‘no day is the same.’

What has been some of the challenges managing a restaurant?
One of the major challenges of running the restaurant is the language barrier faced amongst my staff.  A lot of them are learning English so very often I will need to attend every table and make sure that each of the waiters took theirs orders correctly.

What have been some memorable moments working in the restaurant?
One of the aspects of managing is to communicate (rather loudly) to my waiters.  I would ask across tables, “Table 8 ok?” and they would reply (in Japanese) – ‘Hai”.  Occasionally the customers would think that the waiters are literally saying “Hi” to them so they would reply “Hi” several times until realizing that the waiters were communicating to me in Japanese!  Funny moments indeed 

Have you always been involved with food?
Yes – my family started a small business selling local Malaysian food when I was young. Besides that, she catered for around 15 family members for the past 10 years. Currently my brother is running organic retail and food business, and my mum is helping every weekend.

What are some of your specialty/popular dishes?
Our most popular dishes are:

• Gyu Fillet Teriyaki – Pan fried diced eye fillet with teriyaki
• Salmon Ikura Don – raw salmon and salmon roe on sushi rice
• Teppan Toro Steak – Pan fried tuna belly with butter teriyaki
• Spicy Avocado Sashimi – Raw fish with house special spicy mayo and avocado
• Gyu Tan Don  - Pan fried ox-tongue on rice
 
What advice do you give to someone wanting to follow your footsteps?
My first and foremost advice is to always be willing to ‘start from the bottom.’  I got to where I am from doing waitering. There is no such thing as ‘getting to the top’ without working your way up.