The “Tanya Zenjirou Extra Thick-sliced Beef Tongue Bento” is a luxury ekiben featuring Sendai’s specialty, beef tongue. The thick beef tongue has a strong char-grilled flavor.
The chewy texture of the beef tongue is also a great feature of this dish, and even though it is a bento, it is as satisfying as the taste at a restaurant. Incidentally, the dish comes with chili peppers that can be used as desired, but the flavor of the beef tongue was so good that I tried it on just one slice, but ended up eating it as is.
The accompanying dishes are also full of tongue, including beef tongue seasoned with sweet miso and mildly spicy tongue with a strong tongue flavor, and menma. The chewy iburi gakko and the tangy pickled namban miso also have a strong presence, making the meal itself enjoyable without being monotonous.
It is in a container with a heating function, so when you pull the string on the side of the container, it emits quite a bit of steam with a sizzling sound, and the hot beef tongue bento is ready in no time. On the other hand, the heating element takes up a lot of space in the thick container, so there is not so much rice (about 1/3 of the container’s depth), but I feel that this is a better balance between the rice and the beef tongue.
The reason why white rice is used instead of barley rice is said to be in consideration of the taste when the rice cools down. The fact that the rice is heated, yet it is also served cold, shows the consideration that is typical of an ekiben.
The distance from Sendai Station to Sendai Airport is less than 20 minutes by rapid train, but this bento is not allowed on airplanes because it contains a heat-generating agent. This is also indicated at the ekiben counter, and the clerk also reminded me of this.
© Source travel watch