After I booked my tickets to Tokyo, I immediately started asking around about places to eat.
After all, one of the main reasons for going to Tokyo was to eat a shit ton.
One recommendation I got was Rikyu, a chain beef tongue restaurant. I'm glad YK wasn't daunted by the idea of eating tongue, as I was more than ready to try this famous dish.
Arriving bright and early to Rikyu...
We ordered the regular beef tongue set with the premium (something along the lines of that) beef tongue set. Sets came with soup and salad. Also had a nice side of stewed beef or yam (yes, my memory is that bad :( ) and some kind of tomato based stew. Oops, can't forget the star, the beef tongue.
I loved the transparent soup which was nice and light. Good to have with the heavy beef. Tasted like something Pear Mama would make.
The salad was crisp and the stewed yam? beef? was very flavorful.
The stew was HEAVY. I could taste the gaminess and richness of the meat. I paired it with white rice, also included in the set, to balance out the richness.
The beef tongue wasn't as amazing as I imagined it to be. I loved the flavor of it, lightly seasoned with salt just to bring out its natural meaty and fatty taste. I didn't love the texture of it, slightly rubbery. I have to say I enjoyed it nonetheless. There wasn't much of a distinguishable difference between the plain and premium beef tongue. YK thought the same, so I'd say save your yen if you are choosing between the two.
Beef tongue at Rikyu was without a doubt a tasty meal at a good value as we left satisfied with full bellies. Definitely worth a try.
Stay hungry!
