Subby, the Japan tag will come first.

No, no,no...we need a food TAB.

STUPID tab on vacay?

Is there any difference between a bento and a lunchbox? Every bento I've seen looks like a typical lunchbox from North America (granted that some look exactly like hospital trays, so they are trays, not boxes). I don't understand importing the word.

It is my understanding that most schools in Japan provide lunch and you are not allowed to bring in your own food. I'm not sure why the school in the article doesn't follow this norm...

/ feel free to correct me.

fireclown: STUPID tab on vacay?

Yeah, at your house.

BeSerious: fireclown: STUPID tab on vacay?

Yeah, at your house.

totes!

Oh, some of those are kind of cool.... wait a second...

IS THAT A FORK!?

And that is why Japan never took over the world.

Is it me, or did some of those children have an expression that said "why is this giant white man here to take our lunch?"

All of my 'cute' bento would be such notable characters as: 'The Blob', 'sons-of-Blob', and 'Bride-of-Blob' (pink).

/ I have neither the patience nor steadiness of hand to do anything terribly intricate.

The 98% practical part of me says "what a waste of time". Much like posting on Fark like I'm doing right now.

The 2% crazy part of me thinks that the Japanese food art video is pretty cool.

getting back to matter at hand: FOOD TAB.

Yeah, yeah. We can all make panda rice. What I really want is a recipe - not some lame ass one - for some great chicken noodle soup.

jingks: It is my understanding that most schools in Japan provide lunch and you are not allowed to bring in your own food. I'm not sure why the school in the article doesn't follow this norm...

/ feel free to correct me.

Depends on the school. My kid goes to a private school that provides hot lunches, but the public schools nearby ask kids to bring lunches from home.

In a country with a small amount of resources and arable land I can see how presentation becomes an important part of culture. Not every country can go the 'super size' route the US can.

FredaDeStilleto: getting back to matter at hand: FOOD TAB.

Yeah, yeah. We can all make panda rice. What I really want is a recipe - not some lame ass one - for some great chicken noodle soup.

There's this new Internet thing called "Google"; it may help.

The Food Tab - featuring at least 10 threads at once with flame wars between proponents of NY and Chicago style pizza, 4 of vegan whargarbling, and a half dozen complaining that certain food trends have been co-opted by hipsters.

This is all about mothers competing with each other.

They tell their kids that they do it because they love them, and they use it to justify emotionally terrorizing their kids. "Don't you see how hard I work to make this fancy lunch for you??"

But it's all about not losing face with other moms.

AverageAmericanGuy: Depends on the school. My kid goes to a private school that provides hot lunches, but the public schools nearby ask kids to bring lunches from home.

Weird, I was thinking it was the exact opposite. Everyone I know who went to public school (in the Kanto region) wasn't allowed to bring lunches. Also, there was the recent radiation fears because the public school system wasn't releasing information on where their lunch food came from. I assumed the school in the article was a private school, perhaps international based on the mothers' English ability.

Newcrear reactor mwanrance? No trime! Must make mrickal jracksron out of rice!

when i lived in japan, my kid ate tentacles and panties everyday for lunch. the good panties from a can, with the manynaise stain right where...you know.

To be honest, I was surprised to see that many Jap kids. I thought over there, the males gathered in groups of fifty or so, and jerked off on random women on the subway.

There's this new Internet thing called "Google"; it may help.


is that one of the new Labs things in beta?

GoogleSoup?

Now your Internet packets can bring you packets of hot, nourishing brothy goodness?

/waiting for my invite?
//make mine bisque please

jingks: AverageAmericanGuy: Depends on the school. My kid goes to a private school that provides hot lunches, but the public schools nearby ask kids to bring lunches from home.

Weird, I was thinking it was the exact opposite. Everyone I know who went to public school (in the Kanto region) wasn't allowed to bring lunches. Also, there was the recent radiation fears because the public school system wasn't releasing information on where their lunch food came from. I assumed the school in the article was a private school, perhaps international based on the mothers' English ability.

Probably depends on the city and prefecture. Out here in Chiba this is what I'm seeing.

I could see it being different in Tokyo or Saitama. Hell, I could see it being different between Setagaya and Edo-ku, for that matter.

AverageAmericanGuy: jingks: AverageAmericanGuy: Depends on the school. My kid goes to a private school that provides hot lunches, but the public schools nearby ask kids to bring lunches from home.

Weird, I was thinking it was the exact opposite. Everyone I know who went to public school (in the Kanto region) wasn't allowed to bring lunches. Also, there was the recent radiation fears because the public school system wasn't releasing information on where their lunch food came from. I assumed the school in the article was a private school, perhaps international based on the mothers' English ability.

Probably depends on the city and prefecture. Out here in Chiba this is what I'm seeing.

I could see it being different in Tokyo or Saitama. Hell, I could see it being different between Setagaya and Edo-ku, for that matter.

Edogawa-ku, I mean.

make me some tea: That's kinda awesome.

Why would they make an American flag with Obama out of rice, though?

Because they were told a western camera crew and all us white folk look the same?

FredaDeStilleto: getting back to matter at hand: FOOD TAB.

Yeah, yeah. We can all make panda rice. What I really want is a recipe - not some lame ass one - for some great chicken noodle soup.

fark the soup, make fried chicken and gravy, steamed veggies on the side.

いただきます!

AverageAmericanGuy: This is all about mothers competing with each other.

They tell their kids that they do it because they love them, and they use it to justify emotionally terrorizing their kids. "Don't you see how hard I work to make this fancy lunch for you??"

But it's all about not losing face with other moms.

Pretty much this. Some of my relatives grew up in Japan, and my aunt packed them a good lunch everyday, but she didn't go crazy with decorating it or anything, and all of the other children teased my cousins that their mother didn't love them enough.

I'm so glad I'm just happy to pack a bento for myself that's edible. I don't think I could ever lower myself to cutting out eyes for rice. Too weird, even on my scale.

/weirds my coworkers out that I don't get McDonalds like the rest of them
//and yet I never have to biatch about an increasing waist size
/I sound hungry

\what my kids had for lunch

\\took me 30 seconds from fridge to lunchbox

\\\Don't judge, otherwise I'm a good dad

\\\\Slashes rule!

Bento boxes can be fun to prepare. If anyone's interested, here's a website I used to teach myself to make them. Not fancy, most of them, but helped me up the healthy quotient on my lunches at work, and most of the recipes include leftovers which is handy for those of us who mostly cook only on the weekends.

http://justbento.com/

Dalek Caan's doomed mistress: Some of my relatives grew up in Japan, and my aunt packed them a good lunch everyday, but she didn't go crazy with decorating it or anything, and all of the other children teased my cousins that their mother didn't love them enough.

Messed up. Weird that the same culture that had at least some percentage of the population that ate 1000 calories a day for most of 1945 (guessing) would evolve into that.

? The Brits are giving food advice?

liverleef: [www.pennypinchinmom.com image 215x215]

\what my kids had for lunch

\\took me 30 seconds from fridge to lunchbox

\\\Don't judge, otherwise I'm a good dad

\\\\Slashes rule!

Depending on what the sodium content is on that bad boy, I might have to judge you fairly harshly.

/come on man, at least step your game up to include a piece of fruit or something

American school lunch or bento?
Which one looks more appetizing and healty to you?

/I'll take the bento please.

bmihura: FredaDeStilleto: getting back to matter at hand: FOOD TAB.

Yeah, yeah. We can all make panda rice. What I really want is a recipe - not some lame ass one - for some great chicken noodle soup.

There's this new Internet thing called "Google"; it may help.

pardon me.

I'm not a chef but I have been cooking for over 40 years. I can create some great meals. Mom was awful in the kitchen, so we ate every freakin' dinner out. (Not fast food ) I learned to cook in Greece, Italy, Germany, France, New Orleans, San Francisco, New York by people who really loved to cook and were my friends. But chicken soup had eluded me, It's never what I want it to be.

And, yes, I tried Google.

Give me a break. Even a retard can sculpt cartoon characters out of sticky rice. I guarantee those biatches can't fashion a 3-D Sonic from PB&J.

On the american tray... lower left...

what is that, a cup of phlegm?

southern-style? the kids get spit-cups for chew?

wtf?

/nasty

FredaDeStilleto: getting back to matter at hand: FOOD TAB.

Yeah, yeah. We can all make panda rice. What I really want is a recipe - not some lame ass one - for some great chicken noodle soup.

Easy.

Treize's Sopa del Pollo

1 - Whole chicken
1/2c - Cream of tartar
1c - white flour
1/2 tbsp - cardamom
2 sprigs of parsley
3 whole carrots
1 tomato
1/4 cup diced onion.
2 gal. water
4 tbsp chicken base
1lb box of pasta

Separate the chicken into 4 pieces, add chicken base and boil with chopped carrots and tomato for 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken and de-bone, place chicken back in the pot.

Add the flour, onion, cardamom and cream of tartar.

Bring to a rapid boil and then remove from heat. Season to taste, garnish with chopped parsley. Add 1 lb of pre-cooked pasta of your choice.

I'm posting this from an elementary school in Japan (no joke). I've taught English here, and at other schools, for over a year now...

All of the public schools I've been to (4) provide hot lunches. I am asked to eat the same lunch with the students. I'd say I enjoy it about 50% of the time. Yes, I've had whale (once). It is usually a strictly nutrionally regimented mix of meat/fish, noodles, vegetables and rice/bread with milk... always with milk. I bring my own chopsticks (hashi) but there is sometimes a provided fork or spoon, depending on the meal.

When I worked at a private school, the kids brought bento boxes. Also, the kindergartners in the public system bring bentos. They are amazingly cute (both the kids and their lunches). I sometimes think how it is a shame that the kids obviously didn't appreciate the artistic quality of their lunch. I mean... they are just too young. They also get an amazing quality and quanity of food into those little boxes. There are students who sometimes end up with something from the convenience store, though. I guess some parents don't have the time or patience to make those art pieces every day.

I've also worked in an office here and seen my co-worker's bentos. Maybe not as artistically constructed as the children's are, but I thought they were still pretty impressive. They use little green pieces of paper that look like grass as food dividing structures, and stuff like that... There's also the fact that the food, itself, is often very interesting to look at. They aren't sandwiches.

However, when I need a bento and my wife prepares it... sandwiches in a tupperware container! YEAH! When she asks me what I want, and I say *peanut butter and jelly sandwich*, I get the pb&j, a tunafish sandwhich, and an egg salad sandwhich, all in the same box. I'm not complaining... I eat all of it, but I really would have been happy with just good ole pb&j :) Peanut butter is priced like gold here, though.

Anyway... even though I personally opt for a more western style lunch (when I can), I can appreciate the food artistry that goes on here. It's really everywhere... at home, in the schools, and especially in restaurants. If you get a Japanese travel guide, it will be all about food (seriously).

I also think "bento" or "obento" is unique enough. Once you've seen them and everything that goes into their regular preparation and use, you can appreicate how it's more than just a lunch box.