Location: Yamamoto pine building 1F, 1-21-2, Shimanouchi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 542-0082
Nearest Station: Nagahoribashi Station
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 17:30 – 22:00 (Closed on Mondays)
Telephone Number and Reservations: +81-06-6120-0790
Credit Cards Accepted: Yes
Gurunavi Japan site
Navigation and Map: How to Get to Taian
Dining at Taian 太庵, 3 Michelin Star Grill in Osaka through VISA Signature Concierge
Following my exceptional experience at RyuGin, I couldn’t pass the opportunity of dining at another Michelin Star in Osaka. Osaka has a total of 120 Michelin Stars, another glorious accomplishment in Japan’s Kitchen. Osaka is not only about street food. Again, there were many restaurants to choose from, but Chef Hitoshi Takahata’s 15 year old restaurant Taian that recently gained three Michelin stars spiked my curiosity. Hitoshi Takahata trained at Aji Kiccho in Shinsaibashi for more than a decade. Specializing in the art of grilling, Taian’s Japanese dishes combined with Western techniques pays homage to Japan’s wide array of ingredients which earned the quiet restaurant in central Osaka Three Michelin Stars.
Taian is one of the few restaurants to have a wide selections of wines and sake with pairing cups collected by Chef Hitoshi and his wife all over Japan.
Austin from the team at Visa Signature Concierge graciously helped me in securing a reservation in such a short period of time. While Japan’s restaurants are abundant, few will openly take reservations from foreigners as some prefer a local to converse with or through the hotel concierge. In this case, I was running out of time, and Visa Signature Concierge provided a way for me to secure a reservation.
The staff took my coat and immediately asked for my refreshments. A glass of white wine was in order.
The meal commenced with an assortment of mini appetizers: fresh mushrooms with seaweed, cucumber, asparagus with miso paste, brain, and slivers of fiber. Overall, I wasn’t fond of this dish, save for the miso paste, which is one of Taian’s specialty.
Next, a clear soup with boiled shrimp ball was served.
Bonito and Ottoro starred the simple sashimi dish, which was supposedly to be dipped with ground sesame. I liked the freshness of the Ottoro, but then has any sushi gone wrong in Japan?
Guests have a choice of what to eat as their main entree. I was told Taian’s prowess lies with their Red Wine Braised Pork Ribs, but I opted for the Anago, served with fresh raddish and again with Miso paste that I loved so much. Anago looked like cinnamon rolls but each layer unrolled tasted heavenly to me.
While the Anago could have been the highlight of the meal, nothing prepared me for the fried ginger and fried Uni. Fried ginger was juicy and crunchy, and made me forgot that ginger rarely became the star of any dish. As usual, Uni was served fresh and warm rolled in fried beancurd.
I loved the cream of oyster soup. It was like tasting the sea.
A bowl of mushroom rice served with dashi soup and pickles signalled near the end of the meal. You can actually ask for a second helping of the rice, which I couldn’t manage anymore.
This glass of peach and grape dessert capped the meal, which you can lace it with grape flavor eau-de-vie. The grapes were unbelievably succulent. It is the season of grapes, after all.
Overall, Taian did not nearly reach my joy like it did at RyuGin, but the dishes were well-thought of. I thought three Michelin Stars are a bit overkill, and I wasn’t served with any menu that described the tasting menu, which I find lacking. The meal costed a little over USD 100 (16,000 yen), which is a terrific knockoff for a Michelin Star restaurant.
The key takeaway? It’s finding out that there’s more to Japan’s rich culture of eating than what we are accustomed to.
Taian Rating:
[usrlist “Taste and Originality: 3.5” “Customer Experience: 3.5” “Value for Money: 4” “Brick and Mortar: 3”]