Our night for fancy dining started early as we headed out to the Osaka Station to buy our train tickets for the next month. The line at the JR ticket counter was pretty long so we circled back to a travel agency we had seem on the way in. They were not helpful so we sucked it up and got in line. The wait was a half hour but the agent was super efficient and she had all our tickets printed out before we knew it. They had a cute stuffed platypus on the counter area, yet another Japanese mascot! We got 12 different legs of which 6 are bullet trains for a total of $600 each. This will take us to Takamatsu, Beppu, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo in a big southern Japan loop. We celebrated our success with a couple of drinks at a bar. Our dinner reservations were for 6 PM and we were not going to be late so we took the metro over to the where the restaurant is located. The station opened to a large covered shopping area where we walked a half dozen blocks or so looking at the shops and the people. After stretching our legs we turned around and headed to the restaurant. It is in a nondescript building and if not for our mapping software it would have been hard to find. The door was unlocked at 5:30 but they were not open yet. We sat inside to wait and warm up and watched the chef cut up some cabbage. After 15 minutes he hung up the curtains at the front door and Taian was open for business. They have a no photography policy, with signs posted at the seating area and on the dining counter. I took a few pictures of their 3 Michelin star awards, yes it is that fancy, and of the counter where we sat, but no pictures of the personnel. For the pictures of the dishes Leslie grabbed some off of the internet. We sat on the counter where we could see a good bit of the preparation and the cooking. Another couple were seated at the same time as us. As the night carried on a single, a four top, another couple and finally a four top got seated. The restaurant was now full. We had the recommended glass of champagne to begin the dinner. The starting plate was a loaded with five small dishes, a custard, a shrimp, a pickled radish , some sort of shell fish with kelp and greens with walnuts. Then we had a hearty soup with an exotic frilled oyster in it. We were given the choice of main dishes, pork spare rib for Leslie and conger eel for me. After the mains the dishes kept on coming. Four more plates before the dessert came out. We had pre-paid so all we needed to pay for was the drinks at the counter which seemed a but odd. The chef came outside to say goodbye and we used up all our Japanese, saying delicious, "Oishi", and thank you, "Arigato". Then it was into a taxi and off to the house.
Many folks were working the ticket counter
To our left and to our right
King of the Mascots
Mr. Platypus
All our tickets!
A 14 year whiskey for me
A weak Gin and Tonic for Leslie
Two Leips enter a bar in Osaka Station....
At the shopping area we saw these kimonos for dogs
Very stylish
A throw back to Ren and Stimpy "Happy Happy Joy Joy"
Shoes that Leslie did not buy
An oddly placed tuna head in the hallway of the shopping area
Quite the outfit, this couple had bags so large that they needed to be rolled in the middle of the street
Neigh I say, neigh!
The front door
The wooden sign
Not one for self promotion
The display area for all the awards. There was a crystal origami crane, a couple of Michelin men and three crystal stars.
A great piece of art on the wall
This is the size of the restaurant. We sat at the far left and there was a four top not pictured
Our starter drink
Five small plates to begin
The oyster was mild in flavor but seemed to have legs or a frilled flap
Sashimi with tuna and sea bream. The sesame seed and salt was for the sea bream and soy for the tuna
I got the conger eel for my main
Leslie for the pork spare rib
We mistakenly thought that the dinner was beginning to come to an end but no. First we got some scallops coated in rice powder. Then bamboo shoots in rice plus the best miso soup ever. Still more came out, an eel custard and
Finally the desert!
The Chartreuse liquor for flavor on the dessert
Green Tea out of these hand made cups, made exclusively for the restaurant!
