Bento boxes drying

Yesterday, before heading to Andrea and Bill’s for Bill’s birthday party (which was great, by the way; we had a fabulous time), JeT and I went to Kam Man Marketplace, in Quincy. Though the Laptop Lunchbox is great, we had been wanting to buy some Japanese bento boxes for a long time. But ordering them online direct from Japan is way too expensive. Seriously. If you shop on Ebay (or any of the other bento shops online), you’re going to pay at least $10 for each box, and then add on $6-10 in shipping. It’s craziness, I tell you. Especially since we got five, two-tiered boxes, two sets of chopsticks (with cases) for under $15. Total. I didn’t expect them to be that cheap. No box was over $2. (Click through to see photos of individual boxes.) And Kam Man Food rules. It kicks Super 88’s arse. Though it’s not as convenient to get to from Boston, it’s worth it. (It’s about 2 miles from the nearest T stop.)

I haven’t put much energy into any of my lunches these last 6 months or so. Sure, I’ve been packing my lunch most every day, but they’re basically just filled with leftovers plopped in, with not much fun going on. Tasty, but not fun. So, since I had today off of work (yeah!) I spent the day making food that takes a bit of time, but freezes well. The gyoza (moon-shaped dumplings filled with cabbage, shredded carrot, and tofu) can be cooked in only a few minutes, and they are super tasty. We also bought some prepared moshi (sweet rice cake things) and mini jellies (made with fruit juice and seaweed) to pack in for a little extra, and some umbeoshi (pickled plums), too. I’ve also pre-chopped some veggies (carrots and peppers) and they’ll keep all week stored in container filled with water in the fridge.

We couldn’t find any mini sauce containers nor condiment cups at Kam Man, so we’ll just have to pack our mini cups from the laptop lunch box instead. We didn’t have much time to look around in depth, so we’ll have to go back. I need some mini sauce containers. They’re too cute: little squeezy bottles in fun shapes (like vegetables or animals). I may have to order those online, but they are at least pretty cheap.

Here’s to a bento-filled 2008!