Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Glorious Bento Days

Garando: "sigh..."

Garando: "double sigh..."

I miss the glorious bento days when I still had that "magic bento box" Garandee gave me.

Why magic? Because since then, I always had the best lunch boxes ever in my entire life! Enough to make me very popular around the office. Ok, only 5 people knew about it, but I guess that's popular enough.

Nevertheless, nothing's more authentic than having a Mongolian make my Japanese Bento.

This is a tribute to some of the best the bentos that have come and gone. May their memory live forever in my sophisticated gut.

bento 01
Exhibit #1

1) Chicken, hard boiled egg and radish boiled in a soy sauce based stew.
2) Baked Greek Kofta with shaved almonds
3) Salad with no dressing (I spilled it all over my desk)


bento 03
Exhibit #2

1) Sauteed sweet & spicy chicken, Chinese style
2) Fried spring rolls, Japanese style
3) Salad: Greens with tomato and steamed broccoli with no dressing (I misplaced it)

bento 02
Exhibit #3

1) Nikujaga: Sukiyaki beef, potatoes and konyaku stewed in a sweet soy sauce broth.
2) Rolled chicken breast katsu with mozzarella at the core
3) Steamed broccoli & a deep fried minced chicken ball

bento 02b
Exhibit #4
(this came with Exhibit #3)

1) Lumps of Japanese rice topped with furikake and pickles
2) Steamed broccoli & deep fried minced chicken ball again

bento 04
Exhibit #5

1) Beef yakiniku
2) Deep fried prawns covered with sliced almonds
3) Rolled tamago
4) Rolled cold cuts with boiled asparagus at the core & the biggest bean I have ever seen in my entire life

If I didn't heat my magic bento box in that blasted microwave in our office pantry I would still be living the dream.

Not much Garandee can do with a warped triangle bento box. Now I have to settle for recycled plastic take-out containers.

Garando: "sigh..."

Garando: "sob..."


Garandee mode:
At least it's microwave safe!

31 comments:

Alice said...

Oh WOW!... I'm speechless.

Jeanny said...

Oh wow...everything looks so so good. I love bento!

Kaso sayang the magic bento box is a memory na lang...darn microwave!!!!

Dennis Villegas said...

wow everything looks so yummy, but i guess i must choose #2 and #5...hmmm this post makes me want to go to saisaki ;)

Anonymous said...

garando, did you eat all of that?

is garandee too busy now to fix your baon? he! he! sayang, her cooking is amazing pa naman. i guess feeding you took its toll on her already. he! he!

happy friday garando!

Anonymous said...

Wow! You are one lucky dude!

Can't you get another "magic bento box" somewhere? And do tell us where you'll get it. I'd like to have one too and "pressure" my wife into making me something like those!

Anonymous said...

i like #3 because it comes with #4! :) yes, blame it on the microwave! hahaha.

Garando said...

Alice, Jeanny, Dennis, Mordsith:
Thank you for your comments! If ever I get a new bento I'll eat the food cold. :D

KG:
I shared some with my officemates, it was too much for me. Yeah, I guess all good things DOES come to an end. LOL! :D Have a great weekend too!

Rico:
Yeah, too bad my luck ran out. LOL! Been looking around for one but all I see are "Girlie" bentos. Too small, too pink, too cute. When I finally find one, I'll make sure to let you know. ;)

UrbanBoy said...

@garando

try going to Fuji Mart (one branch in Makati, Malate or QC) they sell all types of Japanese kitchen and baon stuff.. i believe they also sell bento boxes for really cheap prices.. and they're not all girly girly too!!!

say hi to josie (manager of malate) for me. hehe

Anonymous said...

I wonder if my hubby will ever bring baon to the office if ever I make him some of those lunches...

Unknown said...

Wow!
Saraaaaaaapppp....
sooooo lucky nman,kya lang wla na!!!!!!!!=)
Dka kc nmimigay....Joke...=)
I'm sure you can still find one my friend..let us know kung meron na ha?!
Have a nice weekend...;D

Rochelle said...

yummy!!

ms firefly said...

wow!
*bows to garandee's cooking and baon-packing skills*

you are one lucky man in the eyes of your colleagues i can see....or used to be? hehe

there are bento boxes in ebay! i would love to buy one for the husband too, although i must say my undomestic diva skills would pale beside garandee by sooooo many shades. ^-^

Garando said...

Carlos:
Thanks for dropping by and for the tip! Garandee and I will definitely check Fuji Mart and look out for Josie to send your regards. :D
I'm not able to access your profile, I wanted to hop over to your blog but couldn't. Feel free to leave the link to your blog here.

Sheng:
Op course naman he will! Your effort is enough reason to bring the lunch and proudly brag about it with his officemantes. ;)

Solo:
Hello! Thanks for leaving a comment. I'll definitely post if I find a new bento! Have a great weekend too.

Rochelle:
Sayang, kung meron pako bento share ko sayo sa office. ;)

Ms Firefly:
Yeah, my luck's ran out. LOL!
Kaya mo yan no! I bet ang cool siguro if your hubby brought a bento box to work. Sikat na sikat sya nyan kase asian na asian ang dating. Astig di ba?? ;)

HalfCrazy said...

Nice, popular! LOL! With the way how pretty it is arranged, it seems like you don't wanna eat it! :)

Got a lot of nutrients there!

Much Love,

Garando said...

HalfCrazy:
Lots of nutrients, tons of calories. LOL! ...and she wants me to lose weight? tsk tsk...

HalfCrazy said...

Well being fat is better than looking like a stick!

Btw, you might like my latest post as I recently went to Fort Santiago. You know and remember the place, right? LOL. Didn't mean to plug but thought I'd share as it seems like you're interested in beautiful spots! :)

Much Love,

Anonymous said...

Am I one of those 5 who knows about this? LOL. I just remember my drooling days back then. *nostalgic*

Anonymous said...

Pretty and yummy! I'm still scouting for a chica bento box. But nothing pleases me yet. It's challenging to prepare something gorgeous like that.

Sardonyx said...

yummy!!! I like all of them but I can't eat salad without the dressing :-) Can you ask garandee for the recipes? hahaha

escape said...

i really go for bento! i miss eating japanese food.

Anonymous said...

boy, you are so lucky to have garandee! those bento goodies look yummy, healthy and made with l-o-v-e. =)

Garando said...

HalfCrazy:
Yeah, good point! That was almost my nickname during 8th grade. :D

Yes, I do know the place. I took Garandee's family there when they came to visit. Thanks, heading over to your blog in a moment. :)

Jonie:
Yes, you were definitely one of the 5! LOL! :D

Witsandnuts:
Yeah, I guess it takes some time & patience to make a bento box... She was only able to do it when she didn't have a job. Good luck with finding that chica bento! :)

Sardonyx:
I agree. Without the dressing, it tasted like plants. Not sure if she still has the recipes, these photos are super old. LOL! :D

The DonG:
Then I recommend Little Tokyo in Makati. They have one of the best authentic Japanese restaurants in Manila. ;)

Glenville:
Thanks! Ah right!! I forgot the main ingredient. LOL! She pronounces it, "Luvvvaah!!" :D

HalfCrazy said...

Yay thanks for coming back lol! Even if it was some sort of a shameless promotion! Glad you didn't mind, though! :)

UrbanBoy said...

@Garando

im still working on the blog

so kakatamad afterwork..
so kakatamad din during work hehe

but i'll definitely make it an effort to sneak in some stuff to do it during office hours *(talaga naman!!)

:o)

Anonymous said...

Swerte mo! Dee is a marvel! Too bad about the lunchbox but you can always find a replacement if the food is that good, di ba? Daym, now I'm hungry!

Anonymous said...

OMG. That pic made me hungry!! how's that even possible?!

you're so lucky.

Garando said...

Sheryl:
My luck ran out since I warped my magic bento box. Hopefully if I get a new one she'll be inspired to make me bento again. :D

Freshify:
Yes, that's the power of my magic bento box... it makes everybody hungry. It also makes me mysteriously gain weight. :D

Anonymous said...

heehee. you gotta love how creative they can get with their bentos. i hear its a competition at school everyday ;-)

Garando said...

Caryn:
Yeah, some bentos can be so kawaii. They even make characters and stuff. Well as long as it tastes good, I'm happy with that. :D

Anonymous said...

Thanks for making me hungry at 3:47am...the pic looks yummy!

Hope you are well! TC!

Tina

Garando said...

Tina:
Hey! Great to hear from you! You're still up at 4am?? Second life nanaman yan no! :D
btw, laki na ng baby mo grabe! He's all grown up!!