Perle d'Asie Bento

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Perle d'Asie Bento

I didn't feel like cooking last night, so when I got an last minute invitation to come over for some Chinese takeout at a friend's, I couldn't pass on the occasion. Moreover, as there usually is always more than enough for the next day, I came over carrying an empty box (very subtle :o)) So I spent not only a very nice evening over a tasty meal, I also came home with a full bento.

And that is what I am having for lunch today (counter clockwise) : yellow curry scampis, cantonese rice, beef with vegetables and the last section has lacquered pork and lemongrass chicken. The only "homemade" part is the fruit section although I have to admit that not too much effort went into this neither : grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and a few apple slices.

請慢用 (-> should be "bon appetit" in Chinese).

Have a nice week everybody !

Frigo Pulito Capellini Bento

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Ok, so I could have called this bento "Fridge Clean Out Pasta Bento" but somehow, that doesn't sounds as good as the Italian version, does it? :o)

It's Friday again (yay), so I'll be going for groceries tonight and in order to make some room for the fresh stuff, I needed to clean out the fridge of all bits and pieces of vegetables I still had in there. The result was this maybe not very attractive looking, but nevertheless tasty pasta dish.

I have some capellini pasta coated with tomato sauce, all kind of veggies (endives, zucchini, bell pepper, snow peas, eggplant, carrots) and finally some pork dices for proteins.

The sweet section features my regular fruit selection : white and black grapes, peach, strawberry, blueberries, blackberries and a apple square.

And that's it for this week.  Only have one more thing to do and that is telling you to

Have a super weekend

See you next week !

Chicken Sausage Bento

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Another day, another bento. And for today's lunch I dusted off my sakura box which had been laying fornlorn in the bento cabinet for these last few months.

In this single tier box I squeezed in everything I will be eating today : a stirfry of all the veggies I had in the fridge (i.e. carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, endives, snowpeas, spring onions), a steamed broccoli roset topped with a cheese maple leaf, a diced up chicken chipolata, some grenaille potatoes with a cherry tomato on top and a radish for decoration. I also packed my usual fruit selection (the advantage of summer and its abundant supply) : white peach, strawberries, apple, white and black grapes, blueberries and blackberries.

Bon appetit.

Terriyaki Turkey Bento

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Terriyaki Turkey Bento

Today's bento is already looking a bit better than yesterday's (if I may say so myself). Proof that I am slowly getting back in a certain routine :o)

Bottom tier has terriyaki turkey (I was planning to make duck but they were sold out), glazed carrots, a bell pepper/snowpeas/endives/spring onion stirfry, some grenaille potatoes and radishes and cherry tomatoes for decoration. I also added a little container of orange sauce (I deglazed the frying pan with some orange juice after frying the turkey).

Top tier holds the dessert and snack section : white peach, nectarine, strawberries, pink lady apple (my fave), white and black grapes, blueberries and blackberries, a piece of Camembert, and two mini tartines russes. I don't know how they are called in English, literally translated these are "Russian sandwiches", basically two crispy biscuit slices with some buttercream in between. Yumm.

Usually, I don't use a same box two days in a row but as I am housesitting for my parents at the moment (who are enjoying some happy time far from cold and rainy Belgium) my packing possibilities are rather limited. I already dragged along my "bento accessories" storage box, so I couldn't take all my bentos with me as well. I'll try to pick up a couple of other ones at home tonight, so I break the monotony. Somehow the vivid red of this box, is just too much for the camera to handle.

Talking about boxes, I encountered some wonderful boxes and tiffins while perusing some (food) blogs yesterday and a couple of them just scream out "come and get me". I don't know how long I will be able to resist their siren song, but I will do my best. And because shared happiness is always better, these are the ones I am talking about.

First of all, this gorgeous handpainted Lolita tiffin on sale at monbento.com. The price is steep and its volume and weight quite impressive, but you have to admit that this stunning container is one of those "got to have".


The second box that charmed me is the Jenggala Rantang from the Indonesian factory Jenggala Keramik Bali. Unfortunately the post on Decorablog dates from last year and I couldn't find this ceramic and wooden box anymore in Jenggala's online catalogue. At 32 EUR, it would have been a wonderful addition to my growing collection. Maybe I'll get lucky on ebay. Anyway, this is what this beauty looks like. If anyone sees it on sale somewhere, please drop me a line.


Until tomorrow, enjoy your bentos ! :o)

Bami Goreng Bento

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Bami Goreng Bento

Today I am trying out a new red two-tier box I got as a free gift with a bento cookbook. OK, I'll admit that the box was the main reason for buying the book ... I always live up to the marketeers' expectations ;o)

As for the contents of the box, I am not really excelling in originality. And although I do tend to eat with my eyes too, sometimes producing something tasty is just that tiny bit more important than delivering a picture perfect dish. So please bear with my rather unattractive bento.

The bottom tier has some leftover bami goreng from last night's dinner : stirfried noodles with chicken, omelette and assorted vegetables. The top tier has some carrot and cheese sticks in between slices of tuna cake and the usual fruity vitamins : apricot, nectarine, apple, kiwi gold and a strawberry.

Smakelijk !

Garlic Chicken Bento

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Chicken Bento

After a hiatus of a couple of months and lots of changes in my life, I am trying to get back into the bento groove and what better way to do that, than by just making one in the famous M4SB.

Obviously, I am a bit out of (bento) shape, so this new first one is relatively simple : some stirfried veggies (leek, bean sprouts, bell pepper and cabbage), potato salad and some ovenbacked garlic chicken. Quite a few fruits for dessert too : apricot, nectarine, apple, kiwi gold and strawberries.

Bon appetit !