Hong Kong is a place brimming with talented and intriguing people from all over the world. In our 27 Questions column, we get up close and personal with these notable personalities, learning about their whims and aversions, pivotal life moments, and hopes and dreams — all in roughly the same duration of a casual speed date. Our next segment of 27 Questions brings us to Kai, the young Hongkonger making a name for herself with her art. Or, maybe you’ll know her better by her Instagram handle, nomkakaii.

For Kai, creating comes as easy as breathing. The 21-year-old has been drawing for as long as she can remember. “Whenever I could hold a pencil, I would just draw,” she reminisced. “That was how I passed the time when I was bored and kept myself busy.” When the time came to decide on a career path, art seemed the most natural choice.

Now in her final year of university, Kai balances studies with sharing her art on her Instagram account, nomkakaii. While she first drew attention for her toast drawings — now at Toast #379 and counting — she is constantly redefining herself as an artist. Her strong personal style shines through in her illustrated journals and sketchbooks, where she also demonstrates her abilities in traditional art. Her work has landed her numerous collaborations with brands like the Vivienne Westwood Café and Bakehouse, as well as her first solo exhibition in Tokyo.

 

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Refusing to be boxed into one definition of “artist,” Kai is not afraid to explore new fields. Aside from drawing, you’ll frequently see her posting dance covers and her modelling work. Fashion is also something she’s been dabbling in for a while, and earlier this year, she released her first beanie line with Japanese brand NEVER SAY NEVER. Despite how much she’s achieved, she continues to strive for more.

In this edition of 27 Questions, we caught Kai during her visit back home to Hong Kong between her exchange programme in Tokyo and studies in LA. Although she has to frequently jump between places and even countries, she retains an infectious fun and chill energy. However, her passion and drive are unmistakable — it’s clear why she’s one of Hong Kong’s biggest rising names right now. Join us as we dive into her philosophies and motivations, the journey of building nomkakaii, and, most importantly, toast.

27 Questions: nomkakaii

 

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Name: Tam Ka-yan, a.k.a. nomkakaii or Kai
Age: 21
Neighbourhood: Los Angeles, New Territories, Tokyo
Occupation: Student, illustrator, and creative

1. What’s your life motto?

If I put my mind to it, I can do anything. I believe anyone can do anything if you try it hard enough; if you want it badly enough. I think more recently, I learned life isn’t that deep. Like, just don’t think it’s that deep. It’s so easy for me to get so serious about something and get so stressed out, but like… it isn’t that deep. Just look at the bigger picture.

2. Who’s your role model?

I take a lot of inspiration from anime. There was an anime I watched when I was young called Shugo Chara! and it was about this girl who basically had guardian angels. She had four different guardian angels for four different personalities or dreams she had. I think that really made me want to be more than just one type of person and not just have one image as a girl or a creative. She made me want to become more. Now that I’m more grown up, I see myself referring back to that anime a lot more.

Another role model I have in Hong Kong is Little Thunder. There weren’t a lot of local artists that I knew of when I was growing up, but she was one that was so powerful. She did pole dancing and she had this really cool appearance. I really looked up to her and I met her on my 18th birthday. That was a transitional moment for me. I’ll say those two are my biggest role models.

 

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3. What was your first job?

My first job was at a café. This is not a surprise. (laughs) I worked at Tsuen Wan, The Mills. That cafe was called Between Haru and it’s not here anymore. My first job was there as a register and a floor manager. It sounds really fancy, but it was literally just taking people’s temperature and taking the orders. The coolest thing I did there was draw a sample cookie for a YSL event. I don’t think it happened, but it was fun.

4. What’s your drink of choice?

I started drinking coffee when I moved to Tokyo, so I think… a good Americano. It sounds like such a grown-up answer. (laughs)

5. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

(without hesitation) Apples. A good apple goes a long way. In Japan, they’re crazy about apples. Fuji apples are good and I’ve yet to try Aomori apples. One day.

6. What’s your typical Sunday like?

I don’t go out on Sundays. I like to say that at night, I don’t exist — as in you will never see me out on the streets at night. But on Sunday, I like to stay in bed and just rest. I’m usually outside from Monday to Saturday because I really want to do as much work as I can and go to as many new places as I can. So, Sunday is like my rest day. Like, I’m literally just in my coffin, on my bed. I’m gone for the day. I need to zone out on that day, or else it’s not good. One day in a week has to be in bed. It doesn’t have to be Sunday, but it just needs to be one day.

7. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I think this is really bad to say, but I am both. I will be a night owl, I will stay up until 2 AM but I will also get up at 7 AM. Especially during my student life because I would have to edit something and usually that editing happens at night after doing homework at 2 AM. Then I wake up for school the next day and try to get my day started. I don’t close my curtains so I make sure that I wake up.

8. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done and why?

I think the scariest thing is not really an action, but trusting myself and then putting that trust in myself to do anything else. Trusting yourself is scary. I think it’s common sense that we all should do it, but we don’t actually believe in what we can do until we really start thinking that what we can do is possible.

At the end of last October, when I told myself I was going to trust myself, there were a lot of uncertainties that I had to face. After that, it was just like, “Now what?” I went through a lot of midlife crisis questions and wondered what I was doing. But I think trusting myself made me more confident in who I am and able to do what I can do now.

 

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9. You had your first solo exhibition this year. What was the experience like?

It was really great to have my first solo exhibition in Tokyo. I was actually asked in a Q&A back in December, “Do you want to have an exhibition in Tokyo?” And I said, “Yes, but I don’t know anyone.” I don’t speak fluent Japanese and I don’t know any galleries. My art is not super fine art and it’s not something that you usually see in galleries.

But then, after I posted that story, a person reached out to me and he owns a vintage store in Shimokitazawa, so it’s not really a gallery. We had coffee and I went to his store. At first, I was kind of like, this is really small, but this is good for a first exhibition. I don’t see my art in gallery spaces, so it’s really good to have somewhere more casual. Anyone can go and see my art there. It was really nice in that aspect, but figuring out the logistics and planning it was a whole different story. You need to really trust the other person and be willing to build a trusting relationship with them. I think I definitely learned a lot.

10. What was the most important thing you learned from that experience?

Trusting people. I think it’s really easy to just rely on yourself entirely. But then for bigger projects like this, you can’t just do things alone. I think I’m really lucky that I got to meet Seiko. He’s the owner of that vintage store and we became really good friends. We had a few fights here and there, but it’s necessary for a good relationship. It’s just finding the middle ground for things, really trusting him to achieve these things. But there were definitely cultural barriers and small nuances that I had to be okay with. There were times when I felt uncomfortable, but you just need to learn to push and pull for what you need.

11. Do you have any memorable stories from the exhibition?

I think the most memorable one was meeting my first deaf fan. She texted me before coming that she was deaf and that she was going to communicate with a notebook. When she came, it was really nice because it was just me and her with the notebook. There was one moment when she was writing and I was looking at her and just felt really happy. She had such a bright energy, and it was my first time really communicating with a deaf person. Having a space where she felt safe enough to come, communicate, and spend time with me meant a lot. After that, I bawled the entire afternoon. She came back the next day too. After that experience, it made me realize how important it is to have inclusive spaces and encourage anyone to come.

Aside from that, a lot of exchange students also dropped by. It was like a small international student body with everyone coming to Tokyo for the first time and finding friends. I actually found one of my best friends last year at an exhibition, and I think I saw that happen because I would just match people to talk. Then they become friends and I’m just, you know, setting people up.

 

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12. If you could do it all over again, what is one thing that you would do differently?

Maybe for university, I wouldn’t have applied for arts. My first year of college was at Parsons School of Design in New York. It was a very heavy art school and art school was something that I’ve wanted all my life. But then I realized what fed into my art was not really art itself, but people and food and all these things. I think as an artist, it’s so important to know more about the world than just how to do something well. Art is a skill that you can build upon every day. But learning about the world, having the university space to explore those difficult conversations and the safe space to talk about these things, for me, was more rewarding than creating art for academia.

13. Which moment in your life would you most like to relive?

There’s no moment in my life right now that I would like to relive, which is really special. I think before, I would want to go back to the past or when I was younger. But right now, I’m just happy with how life is going and the present life. Just talking to you, meeting you, and also just doing things that I’m actually dreaming about and putting in the work to do it. I’m excited for right now and the future.

14. Where do you go when you want to be alone?

Usually any café on my own works. I have headphones now and it’s noise-cancelling. In Tokyo, I like to go to a really quiet area in Tokyo called Bunkyō. They have a café there called CIBI and it’s like an Australian-style café. The inside is very storehouse-like and I usually go there alone. So I’m in the corner, on the storehouse-like table with my hojicha and that’s when I just tune out entirely. In Hong Kong, I’m still trying to find a space like that because there are people everywhere. And Hong Kong is hot. That is the problem.

15. If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would it be?

I was actually really happy with living in Tokyo. In the future, I do see myself coming back to Hong Kong just because it’s the place where I grew up. It’s such a big part of my identity that when I come back, I want to see what I can do and find my own sense of belonging here. But I think Japan and Korea are my top 2 choices.

16. What’s one thing that you can’t travel without?

My iPad. I’m an iPad kid. (laughs) Just drawing on my iPad helps me pass the time a lot. An iPad and a charger.

17. What’s one movie that you think everyone should watch?

The first one that comes to mind is Howl’s Moving Castle by Studio Ghibli. The classic reason is Howl. I just love Howl. When he goes emo and slimy, I’m disgusted, but I’m like, I feel you. The second reason is the beautiful landscapes and the food imagery. There’s something about that film that always makes me cry. The second one that makes me cry the most is From Up on Poppy Hill. I don’t know why. It just makes me feel sad.

18. What’s your greatest fear?

Not having the freedom to do what I like. I don’t like being told what to do. I think having the freedom to create, to be out there, to just be whoever I want to be and to feel safe enough to do so. One thing that I really appreciate about Tokyo is being safe. Compared to studying in America where, you know, sometimes I don’t feel as safe.

19. What would you be doing if you didn’t do art?

There was a time when I was like, “Maybe I’ll become a pastry chef.” I’ll go to like, Le Cordon Bleu and become a pastry chef. But then I thought about it, and I do not want the 5 AMs. I think it takes a lot of love to wake up every day and be like, “I’m going to create pastry.” And if it fails, it’s a lot of work. Thinking about how to sustain a business, it’s a lot of work for a bakery.

Honestly, if it wasn’t art, I think… maybe I would have gone into fashion. But I don’t like sewing, so that’s also an issue. There’s really nothing much because even what I’m doing with art right now, a part of it becomes marketing. There’s a crossover between art and influencer marketing, and also branding. It’s a really good crossover of things that I like. So there’s not many other things that I think I could do or want to do if I wasn’t doing art.

20. What’s the best meal (or toast) that you’ve ever eaten in Hong Kong?

I think in Hong Kong, I really like Hjem. Maybe because they’re really different. The texture of their bread is really nice to cut into with a fork, so it’s the perfect thing to snack on if you’re talking to a friend and don’t want to make a mess. I’m really picky with my toast. The café needs to make its own bread. It’s either the cafe really needs to know the type of bread it’s using, or it makes them right. I think it’s either Hjem or Bakehouse because Bakehouse makes its own sourdough bread and curates a really good menu.

 

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21. So, why toast?

The story of how I started drawing toast started in October 2022. I just moved to a new college in LA and it was hard making friends — like deep connection friends — because I was a transfer student. One of my professors was giving a lecture and said, “Find something you want to do every day and try it out for 30 days.” It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, it could just be like a ritual or something. So I just said, “Why not draw toast?”

At first, it was just a 30-day challenge. Also because I hated Procreate. So I was like, “I’m gonna get better at Procreate, and I’m also gonna draw bread.” I would be on Pinterest just scrolling for toast references and every day, I just drew one. After 30 days, I was like, “Wait, there’s still so much.” So I went up to 100, and after that, I was like, “Wait, there’s still so much more. I don’t want to stop here.” I don’t have a reason to stop.

I started doing video content too, like cooking content in my little studio apartment in LA. After that, I started going out to cafes to actually try the food in LA because I didn’t want to just rely on the Internet and live through that lens. That’s when the community really came in. I think I grew up very independent and that’s OK. But having a community, talking to people, and really appreciating people matters a lot.

I think why toast is also because my mom has an obsession with bread, especially during COVID. Every time she went out, she got so much bread because you could just have bread whenever. She just snacks on bread. So I’m like, I might be homesick, but I deny homesickness. I’ll draw bread and not tell her that I miss home.

22. Do you ever get bored of toast?

I think there have been moments where I was bored of drawing toast. But I think the bigger challenge is to keep going. So when I get bored of it, I’m like, “How can I make this more fun for myself?” I think I have a weird mindset where I turn everything into a challenge. That’s how I cope. I’m like, “You think I can’t? I’ll do it.” But then sometimes, the ego gets the better of me.

23. Who’s your biggest inspiration as an artist?

Definitely Studio Ghibli films. I really love the food parts. Studio Ghibli was a big part of what made me want to do food illustrations. There’s also an artist called Mao Momiji. He was actually the creative director for Danjon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon) on Netflix. That one scares me a little bit because they’re eating slimes and these dungeon animals, but he was a big inspiration because he made food look so good. And Little Thunder, of course. Most importantly is just experiencing life, but altering it through the way I see things or changing it up to what I imagine things to be.

My best friend, Offgod, was a big inspiration of mine for a long time too. He was doing something really cool and I really respected that. I was actually a fangirl for two years. He didn’t know of my existence, which is really funny, until his first pop-up for his glasses with A. SOCIETY. That’s when I met him for the first time. We became friends and we update each other on our progress. We’re both really similar people in a way because we grew up in the same place and we’re doing similar things. I think we really trust each other and have a good relationship, just talking about work, life, these struggles that we have. He’s really cool.

 

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24. What do you want to explore in the future as an artist?

Definitely more food and trying to work with more cafés to support what they do. It’s not really about making money. Obviously, I do want to make a living out of what I do, but ultimately, it’s about supporting the community and the community supporting me back. I really want to find ways to connect different people and communities together whether it’s through fashion and food, or fashion and art. Just trying to make a big space for anyone to feel like they could just be safe.

25. Do you have any other fields that you would like to explore?

Yes. Like, a lot. Honestly anything. I definitely want to do more fashion stuff because I think fashion is wearable art. Honestly, anything that’s cool, I wanna do. I’m just waiting for new inspiration to hit me. Like… Uniqlo. I wanna work with Uniqlo and make, a Hong Kong collection of T-shirts. Affordability is something I really think about. With art, a lot of times, people can’t afford it, but I don’t think that should be the case. I think it can just be there to spice up someone’s everyday life. Everyday life matters to me more than those special one–day things like birthdays or whatever. 

26. What projects do you have coming up?

I’m currently working on a collaboration with someone that I’ve looked up to for a very long time. No big announcements yet but just a fun little secret! As for LA, hopefully, I’ll be able to illustrate and collaborate with my favourite brunch place that inspired me to bring my toast project outside. They’re launching dinner service soon and we’re figuring out a good way to work together. But most importantly, it’s really just settling down in LA and reconnecting with friends that I made a year ago here and meeting new ones along the way too. I want to branch out a little bit more and see how I can collaborate with others in my own circle and help them with their dreams.

 

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27. Aside from art, what’s next for you?

A while ago, I got to perform with aespa. What I realized was that my goal wasn’t to become a K-pop idol, but I liked what an idol could do and their impact. What Kpop made me do is learn Korean, learn how to dance, learn how to dress better. Having that kind of impact on my life made me also wonder, “How do I make that kind of inspiration for someone else?” For me, it’s less becoming a K-pop idol, but becoming someone that can inspire others. Whether it’s doing things that I used to think that I can’t do, like modelling. There are always going to be these societal standards that you just have to tell yourself it’s not really there anymore or you need to work towards breaking them.

It’s redefining what I was stereotyped to be as an artist and as a girl, as a female, as a woman in the creative field, and trying to make a living out of doing something I love. That’s something that I just have to constantly work on until it becomes something stable where I could be like, “Okay, I’m actually supporting myself fully right now.” I’m still working towards it.

Video: Ryan Putranto
Producer: Johanna Muliani

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