Box Lunch: Cute cat

by Emily Matchar, Posted Aug 27th 2008 @ 12:00PM

For your lunchtime pleasure, I'm presenting a series of my favorite bento boxes. Bento are Japanese home-prepared meals served in special boxes, usually eaten for lunch at work or school. The boxes can range from austere lacquered trays to multi-tiered Hello Kitty confections of neon pink plastic. The meals themselves are anything from rice and leftovers to elaborate themed affairs of Pikachu-shaped dumplings with sesame seed eyes and carved radish trees. These days, bento enthusiasts from all over the world share their creations on Flickr.

Today's bento take food art to potentially dangerous heights of cuteness while appearing to retain its essential edibility. The rice kitty reclines contentedly on a bed of seafood and veggies, her whiskers tiger stripes rendered in nori (seaweed), her paws and ears in what appears to be lunch meat. Dig into this with a fork, and PETA will be be at your door faster than you can say "mink coat."

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Filed Under: Food Oddities, Ingredients
Tags: america, bento, cat, grains, lunch, oddities, rice, seafood, vegetables