Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Last Bento of 2016!

I am looking forward to taking a goooooood loooooong break these upcoming holidays because once school begins next year, Mouse will be in Primary School and with his food allergies (and most of all, knowing his shy nature), I have good reason to believe I have to bento EVERYDAY.


Kimchi-jjigae for Takoyaki. Poor Sec 3 girl has extra lessons during her end of year holidays, so they can get started on next year's topics.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Macaroni Bolognaise

For Takoyaki, who loves pasta in meat sauce, and is willing to bring a (heavy) food jar despite her heavy bag. Bless her heart and stomach.


Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Thai Basil Minced Beef Don

Finally... This yummy dish has reached my bentos... The first time I cooked this, the result wasn't very well-received, so this time I tried adjusting my ingredients and thankfully, they enjoyed it. Takoyaki, in particular, liked it enough to accept this for her bento today so here it is.


RM, who is home these four days thanks to PSLE marking, also asked for the same bento for his lunch at home today, so I made a total of two.

Friday, October 14, 2016

In a Japanese Frame of Mind...

I went to an excellent sushi restaurant yesterday, and enjoyed possibly the best quality sushi (handmade by the chef behind the counter) I've ever had in my life. Of course I haven't seen much, always going to more economical, machine-made sushi belt restaurants, but my taste buds are incredibly discerning.

Still reliving the taste of that wonderful food I had, my body automatically started making preparations for Japanese style bentos.


Although, regrettably, the rice is not the Japanese type but some blend of Thai rice (eww, not nice, not buying anymore after we finish this bag), but pretty much everything else is quite authentically prepared.


And my mojo felt that some picks were in order so out they came! Brighten up the boxes with their adorable faces no end.

I realise that I haven't been packing fruits into their bentos for a loooooonngg time, but it's obvious there's no space for anything else in most of my kid-sized bentos.

Perhaps it's time to get some bigger ones, since both kids can eat and Roast Meat is going to Secondary School next year (I'm sure his appetite will never grow less!)

Monday, October 10, 2016

Challah French Toast

Ahhhh... how I love challah... the rich moist eggy taste of homemade, braided bread. I made this bread two days ago and today it's just right to be transformed into French Toast.



Cue French Toast lover - Takoyaki, who asked for 3 slices, and got them!


Thursday, September 29, 2016

Takikomi Gohan Don with Sauteed Prawns

The Japanese version of the Chinese Savoury Rice (I don't know any official name for it because different regions add different ingredients to cook with the rice). Japanese people call it Takikomi Gohan.

Essentially, it's rice cooked with dashi or some savoury stock, with other ingredients such as carrot and mushrooms and even meat to further flavour the rice. I added some miso to the stock this time, and it was AWESOME.


It's the first day of PSLE for Roast Meat and I am all nerves, despite this being my second child sitting for the PSLE. However, it's HIS first time right? So it doesn't mean I shouldn't be nervous, haha!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Chicken and Ham Onigirazu

The Onigirazu has returned! This time it's chicken breast and ham. Yummy~


Thursday, September 22, 2016

Macaroni with Sardines in Tomato Sauce

What an awesome east-west combination!

I quite discovered this dish by accident, when I ran out of fresh ingredients to dish up a bento for RM some years back. My only resort then was to turn to canned food, and since I had some leftover Sardines in Tomato Sauce in a pan (from dinner), I decided to just toss it with hot angel hair spaghetti.

Strike! He came back all smiles and reported that he absolutely LOVED the taste, so this became our not-so-regular bento meal. Unfortunately, no one else in the family, other than myself, likes the idea of that, so it's currently restricted to being a bento dish and not a family dish.



Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The Only Common Thing is Rice

Welcome back to another episode of Same Day, Different Bentos...

On top we have Takoyaki's bento which is simply a repeat of Soegogi-guk (Beef and Radish Soup). The girl loves this so much even I am a little taken aback.



And for the fussypot who doesn't like the soup (why are my children such extreme opposites), I had to fry some rice for him. Since I had to drag the wok out anyway, I went (what I consider the whole hog) and made one of his favourite ones - Shrimp Paste Fried Rice with chicken cubes. 



One thing about these Zebra bowls is, I can't do much fancy presentation in them, or at least I don't have the kungfu yet. Maybe I'll go work on this after PSLE, which begins next week *shudder*

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Back to Tradition

I've been relying on my Zebra Lunchbox Set so much that I'm feeling very guilty towards all my other bento boxes. Although I admit that one of the greatest charms of a stainless steel bento box is the ease of cleaning, I don't think much of the presentation. Or perhaps it's just my lack of skill, hahaha!

Anyway, today I made it a point to use one of our old regular favourites, the Totoro bento, for Roast Meat. I think I gave him a little too much rice, but it's once in a long while so I'll just close one eye (besides, I didn't know what else to do with that extra one spoonful of rice I'd already steamed up).

As PSLE approaches, my nerves are getting jittery, so preparing a filling, nourishing meal does help take my mind off the (not very promising) situation.


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Chicken Macaroni Soup

This is possibly one of the favourite comfort foods of Singaporeans. We eat it when we are unwell (thanks to loving mothers), when we are craving a filling hot chicken soup, when the weather is cold and rainy, and when we don't know what else to cook.


I am thankful to have at least one child who, despite carrying a heavy school bag, is still willing and happy to bring hot soup to school on cold days such as today. The other one... I don't know why he doesn't want to bring.

Under the chicken and 菜心 (caixin) are large macaroni elbows, while in the sauce cup is some sambal belacan, which girl loves (like me) to dip her chicken into.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Slimy Chasoba Bowl

And again it's natto, cos I've run out of suitable proteins that BOTH kids will like.


Tossed together with the cooked and washed soba are enoki, natto, cucumber and tomatoes. And of course, the dipping sauce, which has become tossing sauce.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Natto Salad Don

Very balanced meal today. With probiotics included too.

It's the September school holidays but poor RM has supplementary classes (what to do? PSLE just round the corner), and he told me that yesterday only the drinks, Malay food and sandwiches stalls were open, so he didn't eat much. So I set my alarm and got my butt up early to make him this bento.

I was reminded of his first day of primary school five years ago, when he was so shy that he didn't dare to go buy food at the canteen till almost everyone else had gone, by which time he only had time to eat only one mouthful of his noodles before the bell rang. That was when I decided to bento.



Monday, August 29, 2016

Teriyaki Chicken Salad Don

Which just means there's teriyaki chicken, over salad, over rice.


These days, I've taken to warming the box of cold rice (from the fridge) in a pot of hot water in the mornings. As Takoyaki has her recess around 9.30am, the rice has not had time to warm up to room temperature. The only exception is onigiri, which is fine eaten not so warm too.

Man, this girl can eat a lot of rice these days! Growth spurt again?

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Soegogi-guk



The new food item is actually that unimportant-looking jar of soup. It's a lovely beef radish soup I learnt from Maangchi.com, pronounced "swe-go-gi-gook".

The rice is topped with soy sauce omelette and vegetables. So filling.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Chicken Spaghetti Bolognaise

... deconstructed.


Girl reported that this was awesome. Guess pasta sauce from a jar is still fine once in a while...

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016

Korean Japanese Mish-Mash

Japanese: Onigiri with furikake, chuka kurage (seasoned jellyfish), Japanese cucumber

Korean: chokbal (pork ankle), LocknLock bento box d=P


Thursday, August 11, 2016

Kimchi Chicken Don

Yes, it's kimchi chicken again... I have no choice, since it was requested by the customer. 


Thursday, August 4, 2016

When the Sandwich is not the Star

I realise there's just no way to display sandwiches without cutting them up, which, sometimes I just don't feel like doing.

That's why the main star today is the snack box, which, according to the timetable, RM will eat at about 9.30am during lessons. It's their 10-minute in-class snack time, to help stave off the hunger before their rather late recess at 11am.


The stuff that are in the snack box are - apple chunks, feta cheese chunks, cherry tomatoes and olives. I had mine kind of deconstructed, as I was preparing the box, hahaha...

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Kimchi Stew is back again!



This has been a very rainy year - May, June, July have all been wet and cloudy months. Takoyaki has often asked me for hot soup/stews to bring to school. And I'm more than happy to oblige if we have it the night before for dinner.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Natto et al Don

I love being able to prepare bentos like this once in a while... Don't they look pretty?



Takoyaki has some fried winged beans, while Roast Meat has a peeled cucumber salad.


Monday, July 25, 2016

Steak on MultiGrain

A very simple one for DH (yay!) consisting of planned over thinly sliced ribeye steak on buttered country bread from the store.


The sandwiches look horrible wrapped like that, but I had no choice because otherwise the meat would all fall out.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Caesar Salad and Tuna Mayo Croissant

New bento item - Caesar salad! Consisting of mini Romaine lettuce, some homemade sourdough croutons, tomatoes and cashew nuts.


Salad usually takes up a lot of space even though there's so little actual matter, that I'm glad to have my new Zebra SS bowl to hold a substantial portion for RM's 10 min snack time in school. I put the dressing into a plastic disposable container and snapped the lid on, so even if the plastic container leaks, the dressing will not leak out of the box. Oh how I love my new box.

The Totoro box holds a croissant with tuna mayo and cucumber. That's for his recess.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

New Bento Boxes - Zebra lunchbox set

I'm growing ever increasingly disillusioned with the SG50 La Gourmet set from last year. I only realised recently that the gap in the top lid where the gasket fits, leads to the inside of the hollow lid, which there is absolutely no way to clean, especially if oily soup or sauces get into it. Yuck!

So, when I saw this on sale at the supermarket last week, I couldn't help myself.



Stainless steel round lunch bowls with leakproof, airtight lids and seals, yes please! The bowls stack up and fit (with room to spare for ice packs I suppose) inside the thermal lunch bag.



Each bowl has a plastic lid, with a blue silicone gasket and a colourless silicone seal, both detachable for thorough cleaning. The lids are really tight because of the seal, and airtight so that even if you turn the bowl over, the lids do not budge at all. The kids have reported that to get the lid off, they have to first open the blue gasket to let air into the container. Awesome!



There is a mesh pocket on the outside back of the lunch bag to hold cutlery. I haven't used the bag yet, as the bowls usually go separate ways (haha), but DH has started to bring very occasional bentos to work (so far only sandwiches) and these two bowls (12cm in diameter and approximately 500ml capacity each), should be just right for him. 

Meantime, as long as I'm packing oily foods for the kids, read - noodles, rice with gravy, it's these boxes I'm turning to. Hurray for stainless steel!

Mille Feuille Nabe

I learnt to make this dish from JustOneCookbook (click for link to recipe). It's quite fun to make, requires some work but nothing elaborate, and cooks up within 15 min. And it looks awesome!

I've made this two times, and this time I was even able to fill two Dutch ovens with what I had (one and a half large napa cabbage + 2 trays of belly sukiyaki). Our family of five polished off the first pot within 15 min so the other pot had to be put on to cook.

Thankfully, we had some left over for RM to bring to school the next day. Hmm... if I recall this right, this is the first time he's bringing hot soup to school. He's always resisted bringing a food jar, no idea why. But he couldn't resist the mille feuille nabe d:)


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Roast Chicken Somen

Yum. New bento box. Yay! One each for RM and Takoyaki.


Monday, July 18, 2016

Jap-Kor Don Bento


Delicious, healthy, filling.

Menu:
Beef soboro (Jap)
Kimchi (Kor)
Steamed rice (Chinese)

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

虾仁蛋炒饭 (Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice)

A very easy and common dish found at Chinese restaurants. I added edamame. Oh, and some kimchi.


Monday, July 11, 2016

Baked Cajun Chicken Rice + Winter Melon Soup

Delicious, juicy chicken thighs, baked the same way as my Roast Chicken, deboned. Hot steamed rice tossed with the chicken drippings. Crunchy vegetables to add some freshness to the meal. And hot, stewed soup to warm the palette and moisten the mouth... Aaahhh... my kind of meal. Takoyaki's lunch.



And here's the no-soup version for RM.



Thursday, July 7, 2016

Inarizushi Lunch

I went out for lunch at a Japanese restaurant with some old colleagues to celebrate someone's birthday, so to make up to RM who loves Japanese food, I left him a lunch bento of Jap foods. Oh, there was some leftover for Takoyaki as well.


What a beautiful box! I finally got to use this lovely Ojyu Picnic box I'd bought a few months back.


Now to get my hands on a furoshiki (cloth for wrapping a bento box) AND to get myself invited to a potluck so I can bring this gorgeous baby out for a trip!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Fried Pasta with Shrimp

Like Aglio Olio but with wayyyy more additions, this is one of RM's favourite meals. Let's see, I added shrimps, cashews, garlic, parsley... oooh this was so good. I had some leftovers for lunch.


Monday, June 27, 2016

Welcome back to Term 3 of 2016

School reopens and the Obentosama Mama returns. First off, we have some yummy Thai BBQ chicken over rice for Takoyaki.


Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Cold Somen and Fried Stuff Bento

It's the June holidays but the poor PSLE-due Roast Meat has to go to school for supplementary classes and a science programme after that *sob sob* And what's more, the school canteen is not open after recess *sob sob sob*

So it's Mum to the rescue with a yummy, part healthy part unhealthy bento.


Menu:
Somen tossed with mentsuyu, julienned cucumber and cherry tomatoes
Fried chicken wings and fishball courtesy of Grandma

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Buns & Salad Bento

Storebought buns to save the day (for me) and some easy salad.


Thursday, May 19, 2016

A Very Chinese Bento


And it's for me, yay!

I had to attend a Parent Volunteers committee meeting and had already cooked dinner for my brood, so I decided to pack some of it along.

Menu:
Sesame oil chicken soup (麻油鸡汤)
Pork chop (in strips for easy eating)
Stir fried pea sprouts
Steamed rice

So gooooood.......

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Bento... Yummy Bento

Can't think of any name for it. As long as it's yummy right?


Friday, May 13, 2016

Four Colour Bento

Ahh... just looking at this picture makes me smile. Such vibrant colours to cheer up a day which might turn out rather gloomy (cos RM is getting his exam results today...).


A simple and, most of all, quick, bento assembled in under 15 minutes. And healthy too.

It's not very obvious but I filled the box pretty much to the brim so that the toppings wouldn't run around. Else all RM will see when he opens the box is a mashup of colours *grimace*

Exams are over! Hurray!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Omelette Sandwich

Yawn... I woke up early to make this fresh for Roast Meat. 

Making the omelette was pretty quick - just chop onion, beat eggs, add peas, salt, fry. I took a nap on the sofa for... 15 minutes? while the omelette cooled. Then just assemble the sandwich, slice, take photo and Bob's your uncle.


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