I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Corn on the cob bento lunches
Contents of Bug’s lunch: Purple potato gratin (scalloped potatoes), grilled chicken breasts, grilled corn, steamed broccoli with orange vinaigrette, and the last of the cherries. Not shown: a small side container of cut watermelon.
Morning prep time: 4 minutes, using leftovers. This morning I cut an ear of leftover grilled corn into segments and boned/sliced a leftover chicken breast. I cut the gratin into a shape that would fit into the sub-container, and cubed some already cut watermelon.
Packing: Cutting the corn on the cob into segments makes it good for little hands and a compact lunch container. The watermelon went into a side container so that the juice wouldn’t leak onto the savory food. The bulky corn on the cob required a slightly larger container (430ml) than usual for a two-year-old, according to the bento box size guidelines.
My lunch is the same as Bug’s. The cherries act as color and gap-filler to stabilize the lunch for transport. At 480ml, it was a little small for me, so I bought a tuna onigiri (rice ball) at a local Japanese market after playgroup and packed a side container of cut watermelon.On a tangent, the box that I packed Bug’s lunch in today broke — one of the plastic flaps busted that secures the lid. I’m annoyed because that was the third box flap that broke this month, all single-tier boxes of around 500ml. The first two were very cheap (US$1 to $5) so I figured they weren’t made solidly, but I’m surprised at the well-made Asvel box with the sub-containers. I think need to reexamine both the design and how I treat them (washing and transport). This is definitely a point in favor of boxes with different lid designs, like the Lock & Lock watertight seals, tight-sealing plastic sub-lids, one-piece flap lids without moving parts (like the big black men’s Asvel 940ml box), etc.
Lunch in a Box is nominated for Best Food Blog in the Blogger’s Choice Awards. If you’d like to cast your vote for speedy lunch packing, click here (you can vote for multiple blogs in the same category).
READ MORE:
- Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
- How to pack a bento lunch and use “gap fillers”
- Choosing the right size bento box
- Packed lunch food safety
- Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews
May 22nd, 2007 | Categories: bento, for kids, glutenfree, potatoes, poultry | 
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May 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Yep, that’s how I broke my putifresh box, the flap broke. But then again, I dropped it on ceramic tile, so I kinda expected it to at least crack.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Yum!!! I brought some corn at the market yesterday to do corn this week too, it looks really good right now!!!! The potato gratin looks mouth watering! i have to try to make some sometime! I’ve never made any before!
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Yeah, it sure is annoying when your boxes break. I’ve also experienced the plastic flaps going off, but usually they can be inserted back on again. However, I guess it’s a lost cause when their attachment point is actually broken.
The food looks delicious, and I love the look and colour of the cherries
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:37 pm
…Two of those pretty Mellow boxes with the transparent lids, and my “‘Whispers in the Garden” floral box. All of them within a month or so of purchase. The Mellow boxes didn’t even last a month. I’m about done with snap/flap lids.
One More Bento Fan
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:19 am
Yes, yes! The first one to break was the yellow Mellow box with transparent lid (the cheapest and newest), then the Afternoon Tea box (made in China, relatively new: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/216951241 ), then finally the Asvel (an old box). I went back and inspected the flaps on some of my really old boxes (that have held up beautifully for years), and they have slightly differently designed hinges with very wide attachment points that span the edge. The most delicate flaps are tending to be the ones where the flap attaches to the lid by just two tiny plastic nubs. Once the plastic is stressed around the hole that the nub sits in, it breaks and Game Over. I won’t buy those type flap-lid boxes any more, but will seek out better-wearing flap lids (like my white two-tier 600ml box shown here, middle right: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/157505737 ).
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:55 am
Oddly the plactic flap snapped off one of our Asvel boxes yesterday as well, luckily though, everything was still intact and I was able to snap it back on. Mind you this does not help the fact that our other Asvel lid has simply gone missing.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:41 am
Early on I bought two of these inexpensive hard plastic, I think at Daiso. The second time I used one the flag connection broke. I decided not to get any more at that point. Both of the ones I have had divider cups which I can use in other boxes, albeit they don’t fit perfectly in those as they did in their own box.
I switched over to Lock & Lock, for the snug fit uses, which aren’t as cute but so far I’m really liking. Kamei was low on choices a couple Sundays ago when I went by after church but had a small round 300ml they didn’t have the day I got a larger round 750ml. I really like both those.
I was thinking a while ago of posting to ask how people have found the durability of the Lock & Lock. I sounds like you have used yours quite a bit, Biggie, without getting any flap failure. I’ve not put mine in the dishwasher, I hand wash them.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:52 am
I’ve been passing up cherries at the markets as the prices have been high … I was just 3 days at a great conference, Camp Bread 2007 http://www.sfbi.com/events.html , and they had mounds of cherries with our breakfast all 3 days
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I’m really loving the Lock & Locks, mlouise007. Because they explicitly state “dishwasher-safe” on them, I’ve put all of mine in the dishwasher for years (air dry, not heated dry — I never run heated dry for anything). I’ve had no lid issues with them at all — they’ve held up marvelously. The only issue I have had with them is some marring/pitting of the plastic when I absentmindedly put greasy food in it, then heated it in the microwave (which I don’t do anymore). This is actually explicitly warned against on most microwaveable bento boxes (albeit written in Japanese) — don’t nuke greasy foods, as it harms the plastic.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Yeah, I wouldn’t be as annoyed if I’d actually dropped it — this was from wear (and poor design), though. Grrr….
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Corn is really nice here now. The potato gratin hit the spot the other night — it was my husband’s birthday, so I made porterhouse steak (from Harris’) and a wicked pan sauce, the potatoes, yesterday’s broccoli dish, etc.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Thanks amvn! Yup, the attachment point totally busted. Grrr…
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I haven’t had much problem with the Asvel boxes up until yesterday — they’re well made overall. I think this particular flap design is not long-lasting in general, though.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Wow, Camp Bread looks great for bread and pastry types! For our anniversary one year, my husband surprised me with a weekend of cooking classes in Calistoga — he even packed my knives as part of the surprise. Very cool.
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Are any of the boxes you’ve had problems with from Hakoya or Skater? Hakoya seems to have cornered the licensed-character market….
May 24th, 2007 at 1:43 am
No, but I don’t have any Hakoya boxes, and my Skater box is the insulated bento kit without flaps. Bug’s Thomas the Tank Engine box was made by OSK, BTW.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Hello, I’m seeking advice. I make my rice with scallions, garlic, a dash of salt and oil (olive or soy- one teaspoon per cup) I am Colombian and steamed rice -long grain- cooked this way, is a staple in our country’s cuisine. When I reheat this kind of rice in the microweable containers -like rubermaid- it doesn’t damage them. Do you think it could damage my bento boxes? I have three, two from Skater, and one from a different manufacturer. I bought them at Sanrio stores (Little Twin Stars fan).
Also, I have tried several times to change the encoding settings on my computer at home, and at work and I have not been able to see the charaters for the signs posted in the Care for bento gear section. I would love to be able to see them, so I could know what to expect with my bento boxes.
My last question is do you know where could I order Furikake packets? A friend sent me once a set of assorted flavors that I loved (egg, salmon and green tea with nori). Yum!
Thank you for your attention to my questions. I love your site for the information and down to earth advice. I considering adopting bento as a way to bring lunch to my workplace. I am using microwaveable sandwich boxes until I find more about my three bento. I love their designs so I want them to last long.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:51 am
@17 from Isabel: On the microwaving rice, I’d say if you’ve had okay results microwaving it in Rubbermaid without damage, you’re probably fine to microwave in your bento boxes as well. Try it out on one to start with, and see what the result is.
On the weird characters in the Care for Bento Gear post, that one is totally my fault. When I upgraded my WordPress version after being hacked, WordPress changed my character encoding and scrambled all of my Japanese characters. I need to go back and redo the end of that post once I figure out how to get Japanese working again. I’m sorry!
I think you can get furikake on Amazon definitely, and on other specialty sites. Good luck!