Box Lunch: "Real" bento

by Emily Matchar (Subscribe to Emily Matchar's posts)
Posted Oct 9th 2008 12:00PM
Filed under: Lunch, Asia, Food Oddities, Rice

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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. These days, bento enthusiasts from all over the world share their creations on Flickr.

Today's bento, courtesy of Japan-based Moogs, is a "real" bento - that is to say, it's from a Japanese convenience store, not homemade. It's got some sort of mixed rice, three chunks of barbecued eel, a wedge of orange squash, green beans, bamboo shoot and lotus root. You can take these bento up to the convenience store counter and have the clerk heat it up for you. You think 7-11 will start carrying these?

Tags: bento, eel, japan

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-09-2008 @ 1:50PM

Greta Anderson said...

This photo is making my mouth water.
I recently went to Japan and enjoyed delicious bento boxes from the train station. If American 7elevens transformed themselves into the Japense version, I would be a very happy girl. Thanks for the photo!

10-09-2008 @ 1:52PM

Kat said...

"Real" bento? Give me a break! Technically any leftovers packed into a box with rice is a bento. This is the sort of thing I hate about the whole "bento" trend. Food in a box is really all it is.

10-09-2008 @ 2:16PM

Thom said...

Kat, you are incorrect. The Bento box has a rich, varied cultural and historical tradition going back past the Edo Period.

10-09-2008 @ 7:56PM

Vincent said...

is it just me, or does that not look like eel meat?

10-09-2008 @ 11:16PM

TryToGuess said...

Not sure how a rich and varied culture changes the fact that anything edible crammed into a box can be called a bento. Unless you meant that a bento doesn't even require rice. This one also thinks bentos are a odd choice for an art medium, but eh.

10-10-2008 @ 12:50AM

geoff said...

Agreed, that's not eel.
There's a piece of white fish, and the other two are chicken.

10-11-2008 @ 4:14PM

Robin Pickell said...

I just thought the person doing these articles might like to see this I received from Trends in Japan http://www.kilian-nakamura.com/blog-english/index.php/tomy-car-makes-fishcakes-fun/

I happen to really enjoy the bentos I have seen on here.

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