Re: Dear Tampopo

Dear Toto-san,

Thank you for the anally retentive letter you sent. We’ve heard about customer feedback and we’ve even made a few simple suggestion forms for patrons to fill out, but to receive a 5-page, single-spaced letter you sent was definitely something else. We have received your comments and we will bear those in mind.

With regard to the incident where your order was delayed, there was just a slight holdup in the kitchen. And it wasn’t because the staff forgot about your order, like what you’ve implied in your letter. No no, silly. Besides, some customers like waiting for more than an hour for their food while the rest of their party eat in front of them. Perhaps you gave off signals that you were one of them.

Concerning your query about your brother-in-law’s order, yes we do import real Hokkaido noodles. We just don’t throw geographical names here and there on the menu. It’s like Peking duck or Hungarian sausage. Everything’s authentic.

And thank you for your suggestion of hiring the Lan Zhou La Mian chef. We know he’s a great Chinese chef, but he makes Chinese hand-pulled noodles and Chinese dishes. The last time we checked, we were a Japanese restaurant. So given that, maybe we should serve, umm, I don’t know, maybe I’m going on a stretch here, but hmm - Japanese food. Right?

Again, thank you for your valuable input. Please know that we constantly strive to serve you better. And by the way, we know you’ll be back.

Domo arigato gozaimasu,

Tamps