Dream a Little, I’ll Dream on Taiga: Italian Cuisine With Japanese Precision
Dream on, dream on. I dream on. Dream a little, I’ll dream on Taiga… I had been forewarned (whatever the positive of forewarning is though) that Italian-Japanese fusion cuisine was an actual thing in Japan. And that it was all the rage. At first, I was afraid, I was petrified. I was skeptical. I didn’t believe it.
However, after learning that Japanese-Italian cuisine, commonly referred to as ‘Itameshi’, had a cultural and recent-historical significance behind it, I warmed up to the idea and now I can’t live without it by my side. I’m not exactly sure why I was hesitant about Italian cuisine when I had learned very quickly during my three-month stint in Japan that they are/were renowned for absorbing the best parts of every other cuisine in the world and refining it/turning it into a science.
Enter ‘Dream on Taiga’ – I have no idea if this was inspired by the timeless Aerosmith classic but I do know that the owner’s nickname is ‘Taiga’ (a jovial guy who will slug a few beerus with you and chat). To say I almost cried after my first bite at Dream on Taiga would be a lie. I actually cried. I was in the throes of “one of those days” where everything just went wrong. I needed hope.
I found it.
Stepping Foot into the Belly of the Beast: Nakazakicho Station
- Website, Address, & Details: https://dream-on-taiga.com
If you happened to read my article breaking down why Takoyaki Umaiya is my all-time favorite takoyaki (grilled octopus ball) shop, you’ll know that I consider the area of Nakazakicho to Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street and Temma an absolute powerhouse of food in Osaka. Dream on Taiga also happens to be less than a 5-minute walk from Takoyaki Umaiya on the same, vibrant and established Tengo Nakazakidori Shopping Street.
If you didn’t read that article, that’s alright. Let me say it again. The second you step foot out of the station at either Nakazakicho or Temma Station, you literally can’t go wrong when it comes to picking a genuinely fantastic and authentic dining experience. Close your eyes, point, and walk into whatever restaurant you land on. However, if that seems like too much of a gamble, then Dream on Taiga is not only an answer, it’s THE Answer.
To me, Japan is the ultimate country gastronomically. In every other country I’ve lived in, I usually hit a wall of eating local food every day (about a week in, give or take a few days) and seek refuge in familiar Western favorites.
It was an anomaly in the way that the range of Japanese food can keep you on a never-ending quest to eat it all, and I never got sick of it. During my three months in Japan, I ate at a traditional Western or foreign restaurant approximately 10 times. After eating at Dream on Taiga, I kicked myself for such a lack of forethought, leaving the bulk of my Western restaurant trips towards the end of my three months.
One little beauty of staying in Japan for three months is that every single time I went to dinner, I learned of at least one new dish. I think this is mainly because I speak zero Japanese and would often defer to the chef or wait to guide me through to the other side (I’m sure sometimes to their annoyance but everyone was extremely polite and helpful).
A word of encouragement: If you look online, you may be overwhelmed, thinking that only a Japanese menu is available. Wrong (you know which president you’re picturing saying this so I don’t even need to type it). Dream on Taiga has an English menu so don’t worry. Plus, the pictures are somewhat of a giveaway of what you can expect.
Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you are in the Nakazakicho area and looking to get your ramen fix, two of my favorite spots include ‘Kuriyan’, a popular tonkotsu ramen haunt that also serves up massive rice bowls (which some say are the star of the show – including the Popeye-don), and ‘Hi-Ki’, a shrimp and miso paste spot under the JR Kyoto Line bridge. For more ramen recommendations, please see my guide tackling 21 of the best ramen spots in Osaka.
Itameshi: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint – But I Sprint Marathons
At Dream on Taiga, every dish was a gastronomic awakening, like Nosferatu rising out of a deep 3,000-year slumber to an Italian spread with such color, profundity, and sensuality that Silvio Berlusconi would blush.
It kicked off with Taiga’s behemoth selection of Italian and Australian sparkling wines, which can be ordered by the glass or by the bottle. I wish I had more to say about the sparkling wines and documented what exactly I drank better. I opted for one sweet and refreshing sparkling wine (roughly 800 yen per glass), followed by a drier, slightly more acidic wine.
Hearing me talk about wine is only going to make you know less about it. Like the barbarian I am. Mmmm, sparkling wine good. Big Body like. Mmmm.
The Caprese Tango With a Burrata Bailarin
I hadn’t eaten a Caprese salad in a hot minute. Until I made my way over to Taiga’s tavern (I don’t know why I’m calling it that). Having grown up with a mother who kept a garden that wasn’t only aesthetically pleasing but functional and a source of weeknight vegetables, a tomato should have a juicy pop to it when you bite in. It should almost taste candied (this is especially true for cherry tomatoes). However, that sweetness should also be offset by the cooling acidity brought about by its peak ripeness.
The second the juicy, ripe, and slightly sweet tomato hit my lips, paired with the herbaceous basil and creamy, dripping burrata (I imagine buffalo mozzarella wasn’t in the cards) and notes of fig from the balsamic, I questioned why I had avoided exploring what Westernized Japanese food had to offer. Simple but classic.
Mentaiko Potato Ajillo That Makes Me Say “Dios Mío”
I can unequivocally state the Dream on Taiga’s mentaiko potato ajillo served in scalding hot and sizzling dipping oil and, with a la carte slices of bread, is one of the best single bites that I, Big Body, have experienced during my 32 (almost 33) years on earth.
Mentaiko is traditionally made out of cod roe or pollock roe (fish eggs). It was garlicky, smooth, and salty. Contrast that with the crunch of a fresh loaf of sourdough, which I went through two small loaves of and slathered on heavy spoonfuls of the pinkish, oily concoction, and you have one of the most well-balanced bites you could ask for.
This dish was the epitome of ‘Itameshi’, as based on my research, the incorporation of mentaiko into the traditional garlic dipping oil originated in Japan.
A Chicken Gizzard Glow-Up: Confit Style
The chicken gizzard confit was the equivalent of Epicurean Tic Tacs for me. Rich, salty chunks of tender, slow-cooked chicken in what I can only describe as little tortellini-esque pasta pouches.
Gizzards are the perfect little vessels for absorbing flavor from the fat in the confit process, minimizing the slightly earthy taste you may typically experience. Sometimes with gizzards, you do get a slight snap or chewiness to them. However, the confit process also broke this firmness down, making them more poppable (into your mouth) than Dr. Sandra Lee’s clients.
I Dream of Gnocchi on My Cheese Pillows of Love
I’m a sucker for gnocchi. It’s unfortunately just a style of pasta that I rarely eat (but love). Taiga’s served up rotund, doughy, slightly potato-ey four-cheese pillows expertly coated in a sweet sauce. Parmesan possesses that innate ability to simply melt in your mouth. So does the gnocchi.
Sometimes I find that whoever cooked the gnocchi overworked it a bit too much, leading to a dense little ball that almost comes across like a hardened mochi. Doing something like that isn’t (and wasn’t) even on Taiga’s radar.
I know the traditional sweet sauce served with gnocchi is typically sage and brown butter but I’m unsure of what was exactly used in this case. The only warning (which isn’t even a warning) that I would give is that the gnocchi is more of a one-stop flavor shop that isn’t going to touch on all the flavor profiles you may want in a dish. It leans much heavier to the sweet side. For me, this was a nice complement to the saltier chicken gizzard confit and mentaiko ajillo.
A Cheese Tofu Only in Name
After chatting a little and learning that Taiga studied under an Italian chef for some years, Taiga brought out a single heavenly spoonful of cheese tofu topped with a pinch of salt for me which I took like a shot. Smooth, creamy, and full of tang, reminiscent of fresh feta, thanks to the salt sprinkled on top.
I feel guilty for saying it but anytime I’m presented with anything tofu, my first instinct is, “How good could this actually be?” However, mind and mouth blown, this had nothing to do with tofu – that was just in the name. It was pure cheese.
I’d take spoonfuls of this like Houston area mumble rappers taking spoonfuls of promethazine – by the hundreds (or out of a bottle if that was an option).
Pale Ale Travel Tip: I don’t take particularly great pictures but in this case, I think they turned out prettayyy prettayyy prettayyy good. Make sure to check out my post on the legendary beef katsu sando spot ‘Kitashinchi Sand’ just a stone’s throw away from Dream on Taiga (south of Umeda Station).
Million-Dollar Dreams & Federal Nightmares
As Young Jeezy, aka now just ‘Jeezy’, rapped in the 2005 dirty south banger ‘And Then What’, “I got million dollar dreams and federal nightmares.” In this case, my million-dollar dreams involve Taiga and his mentaiko potato ajillo. The federal nightmares hopefully never come into play – then again, this blog isn’t monetized (currently) and I pay my taxes, so we are doing alright so far.
I finished off the meal by sharing an Ebisu beer with Taiga himself and called it a night. Satiated, at peace, and thankful. Don’t sleep on Western food in Japan. I know a lot of us convince ourselves that you have to strictly “eat local.” But this is also what the locals do. Exploring Japanese takes on traditional Western classics is local. It’s authentic. It’s delicious.
I should also note that there was horse tartare on the menu. The new beef as far as I’m concerned. However, I had come hot off the heels of doing the neigh neigh (a horse meat-eating marathon) at Umaiya Tarochan in the vicinity of my Osaka Castle hood, so I sadly passed (this time around).
However, Italians love their horse meat. Japanese love their horse meat. You put two and two together. The Italian-Japanese horse meat combo might be the G.O.A.T.’ed duo, so if you are hesitant to try it, there is (probably) no better style of restaurant to whip your first “neigh neigh” at.
I’d love to hear from you about your eating journey in Osaka (or Japan) so don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments or via email!
Eat well everyone,
Big Body
Big Body is a voracious lov…eater, a cowardly fighter, and a self-proclaimed curry goat BBQ-eating champion (don’t forget the donkey milk) who likes Stoicism, baseball, and writing in the third person. Having worked for himself for the last 7 years, he isn’t particularly successful but he does still drink ice-cold Sapporo draft beers with the best of them and knows his way around a Dai Pai Dong or two. He is based in Hong Kong but you can still find him in Saigon, Osaka, and Vienna for extended periods.