Bento Resource
For my readers who are keen to dip their toes into the world of bento, I can assure you that there is not better time to do so than now. Food costs are going up (and from what I hear about the current crazy weather, I bet it will go up even further!) and the need to stretch every dollar are issues on everyone's mind these days. So give it a try and pack a bento this week!
But how do you pack a bento?
Despite its sterotype of being ultra cutesy, bentos doesn't necessarily have to be cute nor artistic nor cartoony to be called a bento. To me, the major differences in the way the Japanese pack a bento and say a non-Japanese way is that the bento style utilise every possible space/crevice of the container to ensure that the food doesn't start rolling about when being transported and also the attention to colour contrast to make the food more appealing to the eye.
If you need some visuals to get started, a good place to start looking would be at Flickr Bentos. Lots of photos to give you some ideas.
Another good resource that I like to turn to would be Lunch In A Box. Simple and colourful bentos for her toddler son and also great tips on how to pack a lunch box.
Yet another wonderful place to check out if you are interested to make vegan bentos would be Just Bento. Lots of tips on how to plan your bento and you can even download a Weekly Bento Planner.
For adult bentos, I don't put cutesy food separators. At most, I would just put an alumimium food holder (alumimium muffin cups works well too) for greasy foods. I am quite happy to pack bentos like this and this.
Most of my bento accessories (food serparators, food holders, animal picks, bento boxes, etc) are from Daiso. They bring in a huge array of items for bento packing, but do note that their product supply varies from time to time. You can find Daiso at Singapore IMM, Plaza Singapura, VivoCity and Sembawang Shopping Centre.
But do you need bento accessories to get started? Absolutely not! I like to check this Japanese website when I have the time, just to remind myself not to get overly carried away with packing fanciful bentos. The bentos here are simple and 100% Japanese. Not cutesy stuff. Just plain good food.
But how do you pack a bento?
Despite its sterotype of being ultra cutesy, bentos doesn't necessarily have to be cute nor artistic nor cartoony to be called a bento. To me, the major differences in the way the Japanese pack a bento and say a non-Japanese way is that the bento style utilise every possible space/crevice of the container to ensure that the food doesn't start rolling about when being transported and also the attention to colour contrast to make the food more appealing to the eye.
If you need some visuals to get started, a good place to start looking would be at Flickr Bentos. Lots of photos to give you some ideas.
Another good resource that I like to turn to would be Lunch In A Box. Simple and colourful bentos for her toddler son and also great tips on how to pack a lunch box.
Yet another wonderful place to check out if you are interested to make vegan bentos would be Just Bento. Lots of tips on how to plan your bento and you can even download a Weekly Bento Planner.
For adult bentos, I don't put cutesy food separators. At most, I would just put an alumimium food holder (alumimium muffin cups works well too) for greasy foods. I am quite happy to pack bentos like this and this.
Most of my bento accessories (food serparators, food holders, animal picks, bento boxes, etc) are from Daiso. They bring in a huge array of items for bento packing, but do note that their product supply varies from time to time. You can find Daiso at Singapore IMM, Plaza Singapura, VivoCity and Sembawang Shopping Centre.
But do you need bento accessories to get started? Absolutely not! I like to check this Japanese website when I have the time, just to remind myself not to get overly carried away with packing fanciful bentos. The bentos here are simple and 100% Japanese. Not cutesy stuff. Just plain good food.
Dear Rene,
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing an entire post on how to pack a bento meal and all your resources in response to my comment on your earlier post... Its much appreciated. :D