12 Mar Getting to know Tokyo Bird: Jason – general manager

In this series of posts, you’ll get to know the team behind Tokyo Bird. Today, we start with Tokyo Bird’s general manager, founder, director and visionary: Jason Ang.

Jason, what’s your role at Tokyo Bird?
On paper, I’m the director, operations and general manager, but really I’m there to make sure there’s enough food, fruit and booze for the night, make sure that every one shows up to work, and that everything’s working, as well as fix whatever’s not!

I also help out behind the bar, in the kitchen and on the floor – it’s a bit like that in an owner-operator situation: being able and willing to be a jack of all trades amid the masters.

Jason Ang (left) and Yoshi Onishi (right) of Tokyo Bird as featured in the Daily Telegraph

Tell us about your industry experience – how did you get started in the hospitality industry?
During university I worked at a Black Stump as a food runner (remember them, and Shop-a-Dockets?). They let me work in the bar one night and when I saw how much fun they were having behind the bar, I  never looked back. I then went on to work in a few pubs and nightclubs around Sydney before going on to cocktail bars and restaurants.

And because I knew I could never save enough money to open my own place by working in bars alone, I also had a day job for six years, selling custom bound menu folders to restaurants. It was great for networking as I got to know chefs, restaurateurs and managers from, basically, all of Sydney’s top restaurants and bars.

When I felt it was around about the time to start realising my dream of opening a venue, I joined the opening team at Sokyo bar (at The Star) which was a whole new world of high stakes, big budgets, celebrities and more. I took the opportunity to work with some great people there and learnt a few new things, and then moved on to do some consulting work before finally signing a lease for Tokyo Bird in early 2014.

Describe a typical day in the life of Jason.
I’m usually woken up by the sound of the phone ringing, which is either a customer enquiry, a delivery guy waiting at the bar (that’s not supposed to be) or some other major issue that needs tending to – like a truck that’s run into our lightbox!

Any issues are sorted during the day, as well as adding new menu items, talking to suppliers, fixing bits around the venue, and working on new ideas for the bar. We’ve been aiming to fix or improve at least three things in the venue every week, and that keeps us busy and humming. After that, my day usually involves heading to the markets to source our fresh produce for the day for the kitchen and bar preparation.

Come 4pm and we’re running around getting ready for opening. The best part of the day is service when we get a chance to talk to customers, share our concept, make a few cocktails and generally have fun in the bar. It’s what we’re here for.

We close at around midnight most nights, so there’s cleaning and closing up every night before getting home around 1am or later.

Tokyo Bird lightbox in Belmore Lane, Surry Hills – 9 March 2015

What’s your alcoholic beverage of choice?
Whatever is available, as long as it’s quality driven. Even if I don’t like it at first, I will always try to learn as much as I can about it before moving on to the next drink. I’m partial to a whisky though, so the Hibiki 21 year old served neat would have to be my choice.

What’s your favourite food item at Tokyo Bird?
The negima chicken thigh and shallot skewer.

What do you like to do outside of Tokyo Bird?
I try to play in my weekly basketball competition every Sunday, and I like to eat out and experience other people’s hospitality, food and their fitouts. I’m also slightly addicted to certain TV shows, like The Walking Dead and Suits, so I watch those whenever I get a chance.

What are some of your life goals and ambitions?
One of them was to build a venue, and then to fill it, and build a team that could eventually run it without me, and then finally to take a long holiday. Eventually I’d like start a family – and put them to work once they are old enough!

What’s something that most people drinking at Tokyo Bird wouldn’t know about you?
I hate emails and opening the mailbox at home because I hate getting bills and bad news. I try to overcompensate by working hard enough to succeed so that I can cancel out the bad news that eventually comes.