Tips - Food Cups
Should I say it again that I am a bento addict? Yes, I love to collect all the bento stuffs for sure. And I don't have a cure yet to stop it. The only way to stop in my best opinion is that I should stop bento making which is quite impossible 'cause I am enjoying it right now hehehe ... :D This time I wanna show you why recently I prefer to buy silicone food cup more than other types of food cup. I am still using the plastic food cups, paper food cups, and aluminum foil food cups though. Usually I use food cup to store some food that I want to divide from other food in a bento box. As most of my bento boxes are without divider, food cups come in pretty handy.
The following are the different types of food cup available for bento plus their advantages and disadvantages :
SILICONE FOOD CUP

Advantages :

> Colorful, various shapes and sizes, very elastic, microwavable, washable, can be used in oven, can be used in steamer, freezer safe, dishwasher safe, reusable, high temperature resistance 230°C and low temperature resistance -40°C (but please read the pack as it may be vary).
Disadvantages :
> The silicone may have a peculiar odor of silicone at first but the odor will gradually fade out after several times of washing.
> Can't be used on direct heat. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLASTIC FOOD CUP

Advantages :
> Colorful, various shapes and sizes, washable, reusable.
Disadvantages :
> Not elastic, can't be used in oven, can't be used in microwave, can't be used on a direct heat.

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PAPER FOOD CUP
Note : This paper food cup for bento is a little bit different with the paper cup for cake. If you rip it then you can see the paper is actually laminated with thin plastic material.

Advantages :
> Colorful, various shapes and sizes, elastic, cute printed pictures.
Disadvantages :
> Can't be used in microwave and oven, can't be used on direct heat, not washable, disposable.


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ALUMINUM FOIL FOOD CUP
Advantages :
> Elastic, can be used in oven, can be use in steamer.
Disadvantages :
> Not washable, disposable, not colorful, can't be used in microwave, can't be used on direct heat.

Now you can see the reasons why I prefer to buy silicone food cup now. It is more value for money and it has a lot of advantages from the other types of food cup :)

42 comments:

I love seeing all of your bento gear! :D Great selection of silicone cups!

Omg! That's a huge collection there, and only cute cups are featured ! I will get very excited when found super cute bento stuff! My sis will have to remind me to breathe!! Lol! Great reviews here. =)

Oh Lia!!!!!!!! The green pea cup is too much... I'll be keeping my eye out for one of those :)

Hope your finger is starting to feel better now.

banyak banget yah mbak koleksinya...hehehe...thanx banget buat tips-nya =)

@Susan Yuen : Thanks a lot Susan!

@anna2003 : Thanks a lot Karen! I know ... it's like you finding a treasure when you see all those cute bento stuffs and you can't resist it ... and you buy and buy, can't stop hehehe :D

@Angi : Thanks a lot Angi! My thumb is a lot of better now :)

@purple angel : Thanks a lot Sysyl! Inilah salah satu kerjaan bento addicts, ng nahan kalo ng beli wakakakak :D

Again I want to say "OHH MY GOD".... (fainted for 5 seconds). I love to see your collections, I think you need a room for your bento gadgets!!

I too enjoy seeing all your bento gear! Thanks for sharing, it's nice to see whats out there.

@Vanessa : 5 seconds was quick LOL :D Yes, will be a homework for me to put all the bento stuffs later in our new house, just wait and see on how I arrange them later. Thanks a lot Vanessa for bringing smiles with your lovely comment (^.^)

@Lyndsey : Thanks a lot Lyndsey! Nice to share :)

Wonderful post Lia. Thanks for sharing all this information.

@allingoodfood42 : Happy to share it! Thanks a lot Marisa :)

OMG...you have that many, dear :) nearly fainted but proud of you.

@Bentolicious Hubby : Dear hubby ... uppsss!! LOL :D

Hey Lia! Really huge collection. I also bought some of these from Daiso but not yet order on line b'cse I'm afraid that I can't stop buying...hehee..

So supportive of your bento addiction, your hubs! How sweet!
How do you store them? Esp the paper ones, in the plastic packaging, they take up so much space!

Great and colorful collection! I've only used silicon cups and have considered the plastic - now I think I'll stick with silicon. :)

Thanks for sharing the advantages and disadvantages of each kind.

hmm...just wondering you hv how many cabinet to store all ur bento tools??? hehe ... perhaps you could show us later ^_^

I hope you never find a cure for your addiction or else we will not be treated (visually) anymore to your cute creations lol

Wow Lia, that's a lot of bento making accessories. How do you keep them all together cos I know I will surely lose one at a time :)??

@Anncoo : Welcome to the bento addicts club hehehe ... Thanks a lot Ann ;)

@sherimiya : Thanks a lot Sheri! hehehe ... yup Mr. Bentolicious is so supportive, love him! I put the food cups in the big plastic box for now. Will rearrange all the stuffs when we move :)

@Kuusou : Thanks a lot Kuusou! Now more and more silicone food cups are coming out so we can have a lot of choices :)

@仪仪妈咪 : My bento stuffs are here and there now but I hope I can get more space in our new house. Will take the pictures when we move and share it here :) Thanks a lot 仪仪妈咪!

@noobcook : Thanks a lot Wiffy! hahaha ... that is hilarious :D

@Xiao Yen Recipes : Thanks for your kind comment! My food cups are store in the big plastic box and some other stuffs are in the cabinet ... actually is everywhere now hehehe ... :D

You always WOW me with your bento gears! :D
I wonder when you move house, how many boxes to accommodate all your bento stuff? LOL

@Kids Dream Work : Thanks a lot Ai Ping! I'm sure you have a quite a lot bento stuffs too hehehe ... Would you like to guess how many? LOL :D

lia, i am always AMAZED at your collections of gear! i love how you share it with us so we can know the different types of products out there and be inspired to get more cute stuff of our own, tee hee you enabler you :-)

@megan : Thanks a lot Megan! Always love to share in with all of you :)

OMG what a beautiful collection. I'm going to Jakarta later this month. Can you tell me where I can buy all those cute things?

@Cynthia : Thanks a lot Cynthia! Not many places for bento stuffs shopping in Jakarta except Daiso (Blok M & Mall Artha Gading) and Food Hall :)

Your bento stuff collections are always amazed me Mbak Lia :D. Thanks for always kindly sharing your bento "knowledge" with us. It's really helpful :D

@tatabonita : Glad can share it Ta!

Thank you for the break down of pros and cons for each!
Another problem I;ve had with the silicon liners, is they can make your food taste soapy if you don't rinse well enough!

@ladysiha : Thanks a lot to add some info in your comment that very useful for us! And thanks for visiting my blog too :)

Hi, I love your bentos Lia, to my surprise you're also from Jakarta XDD
Could you recommend me, few shops where I can buy some Silicone Food Cups? I need them immediately for my assignment >.<
Thank you so much, and keep running the blog. Your children surely is lucky one =3

@Gloria : Thanks a lot Gloria! The only offline store to buy bento stuffs only at Daiso in Jakarta. You have to buy from online store for more selection of bento stuffs :)

Hi, its me again.
I have followed your advice and brought few *cute* cups.
I also have tried to make a boiled egg in heart shape by following your instruction (using a mold). But somehow the egg size is too small for the mold. Any recommended egg brand maybe? Thank you *bows*

@Gloria : If the egg size is too small then you will need to choose the bigger one for the mold. No particular brand that I can recommend for you, you can just use any brand you like :)