Bento:

Derived from the Japanese word "bento" (pronounced "bentou"). More has been simplified translation into Bento, in the mainland is customarily called "boxed rice", that is, boxed meals. In Taiwan, it is generally referred to as Bento, and is usually used for lunch, take-out, and work meals. There is a slight difference in usage between "bento" and "boxed lunch", the term "boxed lunch" is more inclined to simple and rough meals, such as the term "Japanese bento", which is rarely used. The term "Japanese bento" is rarely referred to as "Japanese boxed lunch".

1:In Japan, there are very few people who exercise outdoors in the morning, but Japanese people do not have the habit of sleeping in, and housewives in particular are often busy around 6:00 a.m., making breakfast for the whole family and "bento" (boxed meals) for those who work outside the home.

Japanese people have long had the habit of bringing "bento" to work, although now the restaurant industry has been quite developed, the work of an hour of lunch time as much as possible to find a restaurant nearby to eat comfortably, or in the size of the shopping malls to buy a wide variety of fine and inexpensive ready-made "bento! ", or even just a phone call can be enjoyed, but there are still many Japanese people still cling to this habit, in addition to the configuration of all kinds of lunch boxes, chopstick boxes, lunch pockets and wrapped lunch boxes with the square cloth towel and so on, washed and prepared every night, and ready for a variety of food. I washed and prepared them every night and prepared all kinds of food the next morning, and I was happy to do it all year round. Thus, in the daily commute to and from work, the rush of the office workers on the arm side by side with a bag and delicate lunch bag of young women, you can also see an arm clutching a briefcase, the other hand grasping the brightly colored "Bento" baggage, suits and dresses dignified company owners. The image is very "Japanese".

At first I didn't understand this, according to our Chinese custom, the meal should be cooked and eaten now to keep hot and fresh, but also has a steaming atmosphere. But why do Japanese people love this kind of cold "bento"? Over time, I have come to realize that it is a matter of "habit becomes nature". Japanese people's eating habits are: light taste, hot and cold, like raw food. The "Bento" is mostly rice-based food, with rich side dishes, meat, vegetables and fruits. The dishes are mainly deep-fried, boiled and raw, and are not dipped in water or soup. Lunch box with the size of the partition will be separated from the rice and a variety of dishes one by one, placed in an orderly manner. The lunch break is one hour, and each of them takes their own lunch, with neither courtesy nor concern for each other, and no one makes any noise. In their view, with lunch is a moment of rest every day in the tension of work, the form does not have to be too complicated. Dinner is only to go to a restaurant or at home to drink a few glasses of wine, completely relaxed.

The daily repetition of the "Bento", reflecting the Japanese diligence and pragmatic, calculating, good at arranging the character traits. I have the impression that the Japanese, who are not very traditional, have fewer traditional habits of carrying a bento. There was a company boss said to me flirtatiously: I'm not just food in this Bentang, and what else, you can think of it --- my love for the inner man ah! People's Daily Overseas Edition (May 09, 2001, seventh edition)

2:Japan is very popular at noon with bento, every supermarket convenience stores have bento sold. There are also many stores that specialize in selling bento. You can have it delivered to your door, or of course, you can retail it. Bento is very delicate. The simplest kind is the kind sold in convenience stores in China. However, most of them are a bit more beautiful, the square box is divided into small compartments, and inside there is a little bit of each dish, a little bit of rice, a little bit of fish or meat, and a little bit of salad or vegetables or beans or something else, which is a very good combination. There are also other kinds of bento, such as sandwiches, omelettes, sushi, hand rolls and so on. However, sometimes I feel that Japanese bento is a bit too elaborate, and I think it's hard to enjoy a little bit of everything, especially for guys. Especially for boys, it's hard to get enough to eat. However, if the bento is too small, the boys will eat several things and it is very rich. Bento is not cheap, it can cost anywhere from $4,500 to $1,000. However, supermarkets will offer discounts on bento at certain times of the night, such as 8 or 9 pm, starting from 20% off to half-price labels, which is a good deal. Because everything in Japan has a very short shelf life, today's bento will expire at noon the next day. Of course it doesn't actually go bad if you keep it in the fridge.