What is a Bentō?

Because of this blog's name, I thought I might as well do a bit more explanation of the Bentō.

Bentō (弁当 or ぺんとう) is a boxed meal, usually lunch. They are a form of convenience food in Japan and consist of a bit of everything. The standard contents are a portion of rice or noodles and a few side dishes, usually sushi, some cooked vegetables, and a protein. However you can also get Sushi Bentō which contains only a variety of sushi; it really just depends on where you order the bentō. The most interesting thing about bentō, though, is that they are not class-specific but eaten by everyone; from business professionals to the homeless on the street. At home, during breaks, in the theatre; bentō are eaten not only by everyone but everywhere as well.

Recently bentō have become popular outside of Japan in areas with large amounts of Asian immigrants, especially in North America in places such as Hawaii or western Canada. I credit much of their popularity to the fact that westerners tend to hold all Asian food on a pedestal. Thus many westerners see bento as chests of unfamiliar and exotic morsels to be explored. To the Japanese who grew up with them, there is nothing more mundane.

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A Topical Lunch

Due to all this talk of bentō, when I woke up this morning I found myself craving them. So when lunch rolled around, I hopped on my bike to search them out. After perusing a few places I finally decided on EDO JAPAN, a local teppan-style stir fry and sushi bar chain founded here in Calgary, in 1979.

The little shops are great. They have an extensive menu with 15 types of sushi, sashimi, and nigiri, a large selection of stir fry dishes, some soups, and of course about 8 types of bentō. After some deliberation (mostly how much money I had) I decided on ordering their Beef Teriyaki Bentō. The food is almost entirely pre-prepared, so only a bit of final cooking is required when you order. This final step is done on a flat Teppan grill next to the cashier so you can watch your food be cooked and ensure that all of it is fresh and hot (except the sushi, of course). After salivating at the cooking food for a few minutes,I grabbed myself a pair of chopsticks, some additional soy sauce, and I was ready to dig in.


The first thing that I have to say was that the bentō was a lot of food. They heaped on the cooked vegetables (barely visible under the beef at the top left) before adding a mound of rice, the teriyaki beef, more teriyaki sauce, the California roll, wasabe, pickled ginger, and the gyzoa (a type of fried dumpling filled with cabbage). The fact that I was eating out of Styrofoam instead of a traditional box, or even a facsimile didn't phase me in the slightest, I was pumped.

The meal itself was mediocre. The gyzoa was very soft and didn't have that much taste, the sushi had a little more taste, but wasn't wrapped very tightly and fell apart after one bite, and the teriyaki beef's taste, while good disappeared into the background moments after I started eating. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, the gyzoa was soft, but it literally melted in your mouth. The sushi, while falling apart, was made with good crab and proper rice, so its texture was really excellent. And the teriyaki made up for any short comings with the rest of the meal. The vegetables were soft but not mushy and really absorbed the sweetness of the sauce. Likewise, the meat felt a bit tough, as did the rice, but again the sauce worked wonders on them both and when combined with the vegetables they were fantastic. All-in-all, I really enjoyed the meal, and while it wasn't the best quality, I must always give props to people who can serve me a meal too big to finish for under ten dollars.

A long story short: if you like japanese food (and even if you don't) but you ever have the opportunity to eat bentō, go for it, you won't be disappointed.