Bentō (弁当 or べんとう) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware. Although bento is readily available in many places throughout Japan, including convenience stores, bento shops (弁当屋, bentō-ya), train stations and department stores, it is still common for Japanese homemakers to spend considerable time and energy producing an appealing boxed lunch.
-Wikipedia
Trust the japanese for such cheeks-pinching, adorable innovations.
And i salute these japanese women.
Months ago i found myself hooked to admiring photos of the painstakingly-prepared bentos online, and days later, the urge for creation struck.
This sudden frenzy invovled many victims.
Me, a victim of inadequate sleep. For fresh bentos, mornings make the best workshifts. Planning and preparing's a chore, waking up at unearthly hours to assemble the components took commitment.
The food i worked on, poor things. Being subjected to slitting, slicing, cutting, disfiguring and all sorts of unsightly actions.. it's obstrusive food cruelty. Well at least the final transformations display a beautiful death (:
Appointed kiddy-bento consumers, an undecided blessing or curse. Belt-tightening excuses may sound feasible but the dwelling attentions from colleagues and superiors?
it really depends.
(the above applies to my dearest daddy and sister.)
A Rabbit's Tale
rabbit onigiri stuffed with cooked salmon flakes, cocktail sausage 'carrots', ham corn & cucumber salad, (store-bought) tamagoyaki, macadamia brownie nibble.
i named all my bento-babies!
One of the least complicated brain-child (before all the zany ideas sprung to mind) is the debut, featuring miss bunnie-innocent with an unpolished crossed lips because strips were the easiest way out.
Panda Meets Octie
riceball stuffed with corn kernels, takoyaki balls, sausage "octopus", tako sashimi w bonito flakes, carrot stars, chocolate chip cookies, mayo & sauce.
This is my personal favourite (: Huge contentment gained from the identifiable resemblence of my riceball with china's symbolic animal mascot.
it's a xiong mao!
Sunshine Hokkaido
yakisoba, omelette flower, teriyaki-glazed scallops, sushi rice cup, kanisticks, quail egg, chocolate almond cookie
The scallops became the highlight of this double-carb lunch box.
Sandwich Savvy
disney ham & cheese sandwiches, duo-tone peanut butter+nutella & tuna myo sandwich squares, cheesy fish fingers, tartar sauce dip, watermelon cubes
Bentos need not mean rice or mee. it could be handy sandwiches in a two-tiered container, centered with your favourite fillings, ready-to-grab and ready-to-eat! And a great way to put my disney cookie cutters to use.
Something Fishy
omelette fried rice w shrimps, sesame-seasoned spinach, breaded fish flip-flops, tar tar sauce dip, strawberry pucca biscuits.
A random thought of a fishie-themed lunch, starring the weirdest creation out of omu-rice. fishes are love! <3
salmon! cod! snapper!....
Mousey Trap
mouse riceball w flaked salmon fillings, strawberry riceball, shrimp cutlets, seafood cake, fancy fishcake, quail eggs, wakame salad, cheese cube, fancy gems
Lively Marine
kani mentaiko spaghettini in wafu sauce, sausage octopus, simmered lotus roots, shiitake mushroom, homemade tamagoyaki, shrimp cutlets, fancy gems
Alas, a lunch pumped in with more sophistication. More fine-tuning trials needed after this virgin attempt of tamago-yaki making! i need master assistance, lol.
Food with faces...
full of smile-incurring self satisfaction.
i enjoy it!
(more to come...)
