Adorable Rilakkuma Bento

 

I've apparently got Rilakkuma fever :). Rilakkuma themed bento two days in a row...! Well, I have always wanted to make a bento lunch full with cute characters and I think this time, I have somehow achieved it, this bento is really quite adorable, isn't it :)?

I used my Sakura Appetizer box pictured above which I got from CasaBento. I have done a review on this bento box some time ago, if you want to know more about this beautiful appetizer box, check it out here.

The easiest characters to make are the little chicks made out of tamagoyaki (rolled omelet). I used the tamagoyaki triple pan below to make the chicks (I used the middle part to get a perfect rectangular-shaped tamagoyaki). I also love this pan because you can cook  three different things at the same time, which is just perfect for bento making, as you usually would like to have various types of food in your bento box. I highly recommend this pan, as this would be a real time saver!

You can buy this pan in CasaBento. The price is €32.99 and the diametre is 24 cm. It seems to be dishwasher safe too, as I have washed it in the dishwasher several times and the pan is still totally fine and intact until now.

I have also found a cute video which shows a recipe on how to make soboro lunch using this triple tamagoyaki pan. The lady has got nice and simple, mostly-Japanese recipes in her YouTube channel.

Sleepy Rilakkuma Bento

Hey guys! Today I have come up with another Rilakkuma bento and this time I even made two sleepy Rilakkumas :). I made another Rilakkuma-themed bento because I am so very happy with my new Rilakkuma bento box from Modes4u, an online store which sells kawaii products, including bento boxes and accessories. If you enjoy Japanese pop culture and adore super cute things, I highly recommend you to visit this store - it will give you a daily dose of cuteness...! I don't usually get excited so easily, but when I found this store, I kept saying OMG the whole time while browsing their site...;) - how cheesy! Modes4u has a huge selection of Rilakkuma products and other San-X and Sanrio related merchandise. I also found out about Sentimental Circus from this store. This store is based in Hong Kong but it ships worldwide. When you purchase over €60 (or US$78 / £54), you will get free shipping. Another good thing about this store is, you will always get one small free gift from them everytime you shop there :)

Here is the Rilakkuma bento box which I got from Modes4u. This is my first ever kawaii bento box, my other ones are all the elegant type ones ;), but I LOVE it because it's so cute...! If you also want to have this bento box, here is the direct link to the product. The price is €14.90, which is okay, considering that it is made in Japan. You can also find more Rilakkuma-themed bento boxes here.

This two-tier bento box comes with a pair of cute pink chopsticks and plastic lids to avoid spilling. It also comes with a brown elastic band to keep the two compartments together. This bento box is dishwasher and microwave safe.

I also got two pretty washi tapes. I made some food picks from the washi tapes to decorate my bentos, but of course you can also use these tapes for scrapbooking or other crafty things.

Now let's talk about what's inside the bento box :). The left box is filled with two Rilakkuma inarizushi, two slices of tamagoyaki filled with water spinach, two baby carrots and one little chick (modeled after Kiiroitori) made out of quail egg which I soaked in turmeric water - he's wearing a rather extraordinary-looking purple hat which actually is simply purple potato.

The box on the right contains two nigirizushi topped with gouda cheese which I cut out into two sleepy Rilakkumas. The two little chicks are made the same way as the little chick on the left and the two mini brown bears are also quail eggs which I soaked in soy sauce overnight (They look more like choco balls than quail eggs, I know ;)). The ears are made out of takuan and I attached them with toothpicks.

If you are interested to look at my other Rilakkuma-themed bentos, check out the following links below :)!

• Festive Spring Bento

• Rilakkuma Picnic Bento

• Rilakkuma Inari Sushi Bento

• Rilakkuma & Co Bento

• Tiger Rilakkuma Bento

• Koala Rilakkuma Bento

• Surprised Rilakkuma Bento  

• Rilakkuma Bento

• Dragon Rilakkuma Bento    

Vegetarian Bento: Sesame Noodles

 

Today I made sesame noodles for lunch. If I remember it correctly, this must be my first ever vegetarian bento...! I am not vegetarian and I am not thinking to be one either, but I have to say having meatless meals from time to time can be very tasty...! 

Sesame Noodles

Serves 2

• 200 grams spaghetti, cooked until al dente
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp chili oil
• 2 Tbsp sesame paste (or peanut butter, if you don't have sesame paste)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp chopped scallion
• sugar, to taste
• chili flakes, to taste
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish
• Toppings: cucumber slices, radish, cherry tomatoes

Mix cooked noodles with the rest of the ingredients and topped with refreshing cucumber, radish and cherry tomatoes.

 

Sentimental Circus: Rio the Lion Bento

Do you know Sentimental Circus, the new cute circus troop from San-X? I myself just found out about it a few weeks ago.I find the characters totally adorable, especially the main one, Shappo, the cute gothic(?) bunny. But since making him would be quite difficult, I chose the easier character, Rio the Lion, to make instead. I am sure I will make Shappo too one day, when I have more free time...

Source: Sentimental Circus

I made Rio the Lion from cheese and nori. Underneath the lion is natto fried rice which I decorated with lettuce border and two pieces of carved radishes.

The side dishes include half a scotch egg, a slice of tamagoyaki, stir-fried green beans, three pieces of chicken nuggets and a few pieces of grapes.

Cute Sheep Bento

This is my first sheep-themed bento :). The two little sheep are cut out of mozzarella cheese and nori and the feet are black beans. They are happily grazing on yummy pork soboro which hides a portion of spicy shirataki noodles underneath.

I also included one scotch egg which I cut in half, three pieces of tamagoyaki filled with bok choy and three pieces of oven baked chicken nuggets. It's my first time making scotch eggs and I was very happy with the result since the egg yolk was still quite runny when I halved the egg...*love*:)!!

To have runny yolk, simply cook the eggs for 6 minutes only in boiling water. Make sure that each egg is completely covered in water.

I also managed to make another bento besides this sheep-themed bento this morning. I'll post it tomorrow, so stay tuned :)!

Polka Dot Butterflies Bento

 

How do you like these two polka dot butterflies? I think they are quite pretty (and simple to make too!). I used a butterfly cutter to make the cheese butterflies, quail egg nori punch to make the little black dots, different size round decorating tips to cut out the holes and a tweezer to help me transfer the black dots onto the cheese butterflies.

I ate the cheese butterflies with a slice of pumpernickel sandwich and four cherry tomatoes.

I used to make a butterfly-themed bento as well for Valentine's day, have a look at the link here. Which one do you like better? The polka dot butterflies or the valentine butterflies :)?