Bento for friend *

This is my bento which is a small Japanese lunch box usually with some meat and some vegetable that makes up a healthy lunch. We were directed to make it for another person and this made it more difficult to do. In Japan the bento boxes are usually made by the mother for the child to enjoy during lunch. In the small box, there is a lot of care and love that goes in there. Because the mother knows best what the child likes and dislikes and what he/she needs. Just like that, when we did the activity, it was done while checking with the other person about what she likes and things that she can be allergic to. My mom used to pack my lunch for me when I was in Korea and most of the time it was mandatory. From what I remember, there would be kimchee, anchovies, rice, and eggs with sausage. But the thing was I didn’t very like anchovies or kimchee too much and would always have them left over. It got to a point where they were nagging me about not eating them, so I remember just dumping the rest away to make it look like I had eaten them. Now in Korea, packing lunch boxes have gone out of style and mostly practiced for picnics and the students eat what the school provides.

Other than the care of health of the other person, the presentation of the box was important as well. I think all food is good but if the presentation of the food is attractive, then it makes the food more desirable. My objective was to make the box look as desirable and tasteful as possible. I think this idea is probably also present in the mothers in Japan as well because the presentation of the box shows how much care and skill the mother has. It can show how the family is doing economically and can also show what kind of cook the mom is.