I'm back home! I've posted more in-depth articles about my food-oriented experiences on Oahu over on Just Hungry (Part 1, Part 2) but I thought I'd talk briefly about some bento-related things I found there on Just Bento. I only had 6 days there, at least 3 of which I spent mostly beach-hopping, so I couldn't cover much, but hopefully this gives a general overview.

Whenever I use the little apple shaped mayonnaise container in my bentos (as I did in the most recent bento no. 48) I always get comments or emails asking where they came from. It's designed by Shinzi Katoh, a very popular graphic designer and ilustrator in Japan. Of interest to bento fans is the fact that he has designed several bento boxes and accessories.

This is mainly of interest only to readers in Switzerland or in regions of France and Germany close enough to Switzerland to go shopping here. I couldn't pass it up because it finally gives me a chance to talk about one of the most practical lines of bento-appropriate containers available, Lock & Lock.

Great news for fans of cute kyaraben, especialy Hello Kitty themed ones: the Hello Kitty bento decorating set that was featured in this post is now available at J-List/JBox! They offer it for $25, which considering the original Japanese price is 1980 yen is not too bad. Now Her Royal Kittiness can invade bento boxes worldwide with consummate ease! Now, can I resist getting a set myself?

(Note: I'm not sure from the description of the product if the second nori punch with the Kassie and Teddy faces is included - although the pictures do show Kassie and Teddy-shaped onigiri with the appropriate nori faces. If this is important to you, you may want to ask J-List if it is included before ordering.) Rita just got hers and let us know that it does include two nori punches!

(Disclaimer: JustBento is a J-List affiliate.)

As I posted yesterday, making individual pies in muffin or cupcake liners is a great way to make 'planned leftovers' from dinner look neat enough to put into a bento box. As Sile suggested in the comments, if you don't want to use throwaway paper cups, silicone cups are a reusable alternative. Calphalon makes a nice silicone liner and cupcake pan set which would be perfect for this. The liners are in pretty pastel colors.

You can also use the liners as dividers in your bento, for salads, fruit, and so on. They sell the tin and liners as a set, as shown here, or the liners on their own. Extras might be a good idea to have if you do freeze the food 'cupcakes'.

Good news for bento fans in Europe and the UK in particular: as reported previously, Japan Centre's online store has expanded their bento box and accessory lineup from Daiso. Accessories are priced at £1.45 to &1.49, and bento boxes like the popular Lube Sheep Dragonfly model are £2.50 - pretty reasonable I think. While Japan Centre, who are based in London, only ship food items within Europe, they do ship non-food items worldwide, Always figure in the shipping costs and shop around for the best deals! See Where to buy bento items. (*Disclaimer: Japan Centre is an advertiser on Just Bento, but I'm also a very happy repeat customer.)

This week I'm going back to the handcrafted bento boxes that I love. The material in the spotlight is bamboo.