Bento is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. While bento are readily available at convenience stores and bento shops throughout Japan, it is still considered an essential skill for a Japanese housewife to be able to prepare an appealing boxed lunch. Bento can be very elaborate, aesthetically pleasing cuisine arrangements. Often the food is arranged in such a way as to resemble other objects: dolls, flowers, leaves, and so forth. Almost anything can be used to make a bento. Here you'll find some very cute Japanese bento lunch boxes:
