Recently, preparing bento has been an elusive task, as shown by the absence of updates here. A sorry state that I’d like to correct because I have more reasons to prepare bento now that we’ve moved offices and there are less options for buying lunch. So I think a reminder post on why bento wins is called for—to give me that necessary push to go back to bento.

1. It’s cheaper. I know, I know. Being obsessed with bento can be expensive, seeing how I own more than 20 bento boxes. I confess to spending a couple of hundred dollars already on bento paraphernalia, but then, those aren’t necessities. If I just count the food costs, packing bento still translates to cheaper lunches.

2. It’s convenient. Having your lunch ready saves you time because the perennial question of “Where do we eat?” is solved.

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Another cool Japanese thing I totally adore is the proliferation of kyaraben. Kyaraben or character bento are packed lunches that feature popular anime, manga, or even pop idols. It’s definitely not something you just throw around but requires planning so it’s rare that I make attempts to make one. Stil, it’s been some time since I last made a cutesy bento, so yesterday, I decided to go and prepare something cheery and kyaraben-like to start the week off right.

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“How can you eat something that looks back at you?” I get that question a lot whenever I pack bento that have eyes. Maybe I’m heartless. Maybe they don’t look like animated objects to me. Or maybe I’m just darned hungry. Truly, it’s never bothered me, even as I squeal, “kawaii desu!” over a bento. So bring on the cute critters and I’ll bring on the appetite.

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No smileys, flowers, and cute things adorn today’s bento. Instead, it’s all about taste as this extremely flavorful bento promised to make my lunch break a happy one. Aside from being delicious, the other nice thing about this bento is that it was quick to prepare. I had it cooked and good to go in under half an hour–and everything was made from scratch.

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Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tonight, I felt like young Alfredo Linguini, that garbage boy turned chef in Ratatouille. Only, I didn’t have a rat in my toque–wasn’t even wearing a toque–and I had to rely on my own senses as I minced onions with my eyes closed.

Am I insane? Have I been watching too much cooking anime? Do I plan to audition in a circus sometime soon? Truth is, I have been cooking for years but to this day, I still cannot avoiding tearing up while chopping onions. And I don’t mean trickling tears. I mean horrid torrential tears, with my nose getting in on the act. Painful tears that I can only soothe by closing my eyes. Sure, I can slice, even roughly chop an onion or two. But to mince!

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Finally! After a long, tiring hunt, I have the bento box I’ve been wanting to have for ages. I finally have a collapsible sandwich box! *cheers amidst the tumbleweeds and cricket chirps*

It’s probably not a big deal to most people out there, but it’s one box that’s missing from my collection. An open designed, collapsible plastic box, this bento box is designed specifically for sandwiches.

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For kids, one of the big problems during bedtime is the proverbial monster hiding under the bed. My problem, on the other hand, is the monster under my salad!

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