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.

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!)

EVOO Sardines Over Healthy Rice

That's about it.

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!

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!

Chicken and Ham Onigirazu

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

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.

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*

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Chicken Spaghetti Bolognaise

... deconstructed.

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