One of the fun food specialty in Japan is Bento Box. They have so many different kinds by so many different vendors. Yes you can get them from convenient stores and such, but there are still some old-fashion bento shop that has been in a business for over 100 years! We went to one of those bento shop in Ginza, right across the street from kabuki Theater. You can get a special bento from inside the Kabuki theater as well (you can read about it here: http://www.foodlovergirl.com/kabuki-za/), but you can also get a different kind of bento from this shop and bring it inside Kabuki Theater as well.
We were not going to see Kabuki this time, but still wanted to try their bento, so we decided to get some and have them at home. They have been in Bento business for 140 years, so they come with great history and tradition. They have a few locations nowadays, but I wanted to go visit their main, original shop. They have all the bento box made with wax inside the glass display, so you know exactly what you are getting before you buy them.
We wanted to get a few bento boxes to be shared among my family, but this was not a good day… It was rainy, and few other factors that got us into not-so-happy mood. So, when we entered the shop, we didn’t really go in with a clear foodie heads. I knew I wanted a bento with osekihan which is a Japanese red bean rice. We were told that they only three kinds of those left, and two of them have very similar ingredients. So, I bought two kinds of bento with different ingredients. Just TWO. Now that I think back on it, I should have bought those two PLUS maybe one or two more bento with regular white rice in it. I mean, it was to be shared with my family, and I went home with just two bento box… Not my best thought plan…. Anyways, here is the first one, called Sekihan Nijyu (950 yen). “Nijyu” means two tiers, so it came in two boxes.
The first tier was filled with their famous and popular osekihan, and the second tier had all the other ingredients in it. It looked great and the aroma was even more amazing. Now my family was even more disappointed that I didn’t get more of it. Sigh.
Their osekihan is something that I really wanted, I heard they are excellent. Osekihan (or less formally “sekihan) is a traditional Japanese rice dish that is eaten at festive times. Nowadays, you can get them on any and all occasions. It is made with sticky steamed rice with azuki beans. The beans give off the reddish color while being cooked together, making the rice a bit reddish-purple. The word “sekihan” literally means “red rice” so that is where the name osekihan comes from. It was really good, sticky and gooey, yet fluffy and airy. Very flavorful and perfect with a bit of salt and black sesame.
The rest of the ingredients came with the bento was great too. It had so many different kinds of ingredients in it, and all made in traditional ways. It had Japanese egg omelette, miso-grilled swordfish, mashed sweet potato with beans, braised veggies, plum pickles, and so many more. They were all so tasty and high quality, we enjoyed them all!
The second bento box that we bought was Kaiseki Bento Red (1,200 yen). “Red” means that it comes with osekihan, instead of white rice. Even though it does not have two tiers, the size of the box is large, and it containers more ingredients than the two tiered bento box.
It does look more fancy than the other one, with the osekihan in a shape of flower, and everything else packed in the bento box with such pretty and organized way. It is a bit more colorful too. The size of this bento box is almost exactly the same size as the other bento, Sekihan Nijyu, both tiers put together.
So, you can imagine the bottom two squares as one tier, and top two squares as another tier. With this in mind, you get about the half portion of osekihan in this one. Instead, you get more goodies. You get plum pickles, braised veggies, mushroom, etc…
The fish in this one is different from the other bento. Here, there is a teriyaki-grilled Spanish Mackerel. It was really tasty, perfectly seasoned and cooked. They also have Japanese omelette, Tsukune, cheese, mashed sweet potato with chestnut, etc….
Even though I didn’t buy enough bento to be shared comfortably, but we all got to enjoy the high quality bento boxes. Each ingredients were cooked with love and care, and I see the reason why they have many loyal customers, including the Kabuki actors. I do enjoy the bento boxes sold inside the Kabuki theater as well, but it is always good have more options. I heard that there is another really bento box shop nearby as well, I shall check that one out on my next visit to Japan!
Kobikicho Benmatsu – 5-14-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Japan
木挽町辨松 – 東京都中央区銀座5丁目14番1号