Bentolicious #152
I didn't make any bento yesterday because it was a public holiday here. Yesterday, I went to a Korean supermarket near our house and bought a pack of Korean mixed grains rice to make today's bento. We love Korean foods. We have this Korean restaurant called Hanwoori, very close to our house (only 5 minutes drive) owned by a Korean family. The couple is very friendly to the kids. The wife always comes to our table and chats with the kids. Andrew's favorite is Soluntang and Audrey loves Bokkeumbap and Jap Chae. She even loves the Kimchi Jigae now. As this is the first time to introduce Kongbap (mixed grains rice) to my girl, I made 2 heart shapes onigiri. The Kongbap contains 14 kinds of nutrition for a healthy diet. At least that's what I read from the package. And the package contains barley, rice, brown rice, black rice, sorghum, buckwheat, mung bean, and millet. The mixed grains rice tastes very good, a bit sweet with a rich texture in it.
I added 2 characters boy and girl with the hands positioned like make a heart shapes. If you love to watch K-Drama then you will know that they usually do this and say 'saranghae' - is Korean to say I Love You. Inside the other box : heart shapes tamagoyaki, cherry tomato, stir fried carrot & cabbage with onion, and ebi katsu with shiso leaves.

62 comments:

OMG it's so cute! really! kayaknya ini cocok untuk tema valentine mbak, hihihi. beneran deh ide-nya keren bgt dan hasilnya juga oke bgt! aku selalu kagum sama bento buatan mbak Lia >.<

Saranghaeyo! so cute.. I was addicted to Korean dramas too few years ago.. ( before i had kids haha)

How do you make the 2 tone tamagoyaki?

Kongbap looks cool; I love mixed grains rice! And the girl hearts are sweet! Beautiful bento!

awww...this is beautiful! i would love to have a bento made for me like this

Wow, I love kongbap and I agree with you about the texture and taste. Healthy plus cute! You've successfully created both in a single lunch. Genius!

it's so cute! and healthy! How does Kongbap taste? Nutty like Brown rice?

aaahhh, I bought this too some time ago.
Didn't have a chance to cook this. I will try soon :)
I love the boy and girl figures...they are lovely...Saranghae..!

@Sysyl : Wuah thanks a lot Sysyl for your sweet comment! Perhaps you should make one later on Valentine's Day. For your boyfriend? hehehe ... :D

@Bobo : Thanks a lot Florence! I'm still addicted to the K-Drama until now. Sometimes can watch until 2 or 3am hahaha ... I separate the egg white and the egg yolk for 2-tones tamagoyaki. So pour the egg yolk mixture for the 1st and 2nd layer, 3rd and 4th layer with egg white, and the last layer with egg yolk :)

Such a lovely and healty bento, I thought they are two girls dancing ballet (~_^)

@sherimiya : Thanks a lot Sheri! You are the queen of mixed grains rice. Always love to see your zen rice via twitter. I'm not so sure to try it until today. Thanks for the all inspirations (^.^)

@diva : Thanks a lot for your kind comment!

@Debra : Thanks a lot Debra! Your last post about kongbap really makes me wanna put it on kids' bento. Surprisingly my girl likes it and finished the kongbap onigiri, woohoo!! Your healthy delicious bento is one of the inspiration to prepare my kids' bento (^.^)

@Jessica A : Thanks a lot Jessica! The kongbap tastes sweater than a regular rice because of the mixed grains. No bad smells and nutty texture when you chew it :)

@Journal Mommy Yenny : Thanks a lot Yen! I think your kids will love it too. If you are not so sure, you can always add more regular rice into the mixture :)

@Vanessa : hehehe ... You can say that too if you like. Thanks a lot Vanessa!

Your characters are so cute! I've never made kongbap before, can you put it in a rice cooker? It looks delicious!

Nutricious!

@OhayoBento : Thanks a lot Heather! Love it and I cooked it with my rice cooker just like I cook my regular rice :)

@princess n princess mum : Healthy, so nutritious indeed!

=) Love mixed grains rice!! I don´t find them easily here and I need to make myself the most of time. Looks delicious!! I love the texture :)
So full of hearts bento!!! The two color tamagoyaki is just fantastic ^_^.
You can easily post this bento in Valentine´s ♥♡ ;)

@karaimame : Thanks a lot Lilian! The ready pack is so convenient, glad I can find it easily here. My girl likes it but my boy is not so enthusiatic like her sister. I watch just too much K-Drama, so full of hearts indeed :)

very cute and so healthy.

@SIG : Thanks a lot!

Wow..so cute and sooo beautiful!!! Love those 2 color tamagoyaki. :)

This is so lovely! And they also seem like exercising! What a healthy lunch! :)

wow! i really love the flower on the girl's hair. it's very cute and feminine. how i wish i had your talent and creativeness. maybe you can publish your own bento book Lia and i'm sure that it will be a bestseller. this creation is fantastic and awesome (well all your works are). i love it, love it soo much! God bless! :D

so cute! I love how you did the hair. Was that free hand?

I just love your heart shapes tamagoyaki!! So special. I love the mixed grains too and often mix it myself. It's nice to see what others use in their mix. Everything looks so good!

Oh so a cute bento again.

And the Kongbap looks good.
I didn´t know it. Maybe I can find it here in Austria an try it...

soooo yummy! kongbap is one of my favorites :-)

glad your kids are eating so many korean foods -- they can be so healthy and comforting!

these two heart onigiri are a great introduction to the mixed-grain rice, and who wouldn't love the two happy friends on the onigiri, or the heart shaped omelette?! xoxo

@Emily Ng : Thanks a lot Emily!

@Kids Dream Work : Thanks a lot Ai Ping! hahaha ... yeah exercise for a healthy life :)

@Rio : Thanks a lot Rio! You always give me so much support through your wonderful comment. Glad that you like this one :)

@Kelly Polizzi : Thanks a lot Kelly! Yes, I did it free hand for the hair, face, and hand parts :)

@Lyndsey : Thanks a lot Lyndsey! Heart shapes tamagoyaki is fun to do, you can try it too :)

@Kyo : Thanks a lot Kyo! I wanted to buy the kongbap for so long but wasn't sure my kids will like it. But my girl love it and my boy seemed no problem with it. You can mixed it by yourself too if you can't find the ready package :)

@megan : Thanks a lot Megan! Have to learn a lot about Korean foods from you. You are the master with your beautiful and delicious bento. Hope can put more food variation into kids' bento :)

Lovely bento as always, Lia! I loved your description of the sweet Korean restaurant, nice to read that you have a special and freindly place to enjoy yummy Korean dishes!

Also, great reminder of healthy kongbap--must add that to the fall menu! Best wishes!!

i like all your bento creations Lia, it's really hard to pick what's my favorite because all of them are truly cream of the crop of all bentos! i admire 3 bento makers luckysundae, hippoPAPA+ MAMA, and of course Lia Chen (*teehee*).

ooops.. i made a mistake, it was actually HippoPAPA +mum not hippoPAPA+MAMA. sorry! :D

The multi-grain rice look so healthy and the colourful ^_^

Aww ... what a cute bento! I love the girl and boy making a heart shape ... I love K-drama and Korean food too ^_^

@bentobird : Thanks a lot Jenn! If you are here, I will take you to the restaurant and enjoy foods together ;)

@Rio : Oh my Rio! Those 2 bento makers that you mentioned are my favorite bento maker too. My skills are trully still far behind them :)

@noobcook : Thanks a lot Wiffy!

@Just a MOM : Thanks a lot Lin! K-Drama is so addictive LOL :D

Beautiful bento and the rice is gorgeous! I'm going to have to get some for myself!

oh Lia, you're so humble, you really impress me, not only with your bento creations but with your down-to-earth attitude as well. :)
but really if i'm going to enumerate lucky, hippoPAPA and your work, you are on the top of my list (no kidding!) once again i'm fascinated with the color combination you use as well as the details and how organize and neat your work looks like. :D

우리가 너무 리아 당신을 사랑 :D

@Susan Yuen : Thanks a lot Susan! Very appreciate your comment and all the best for the 3rd book :)

@Rio : I appreciate it so much Rio! Hope everyone including you have a fun bento journey too :)

@3snahousedesign : Esna, 정말 감사합니다 !

You are totally amazing, Lia! I love the heart shape tamagoyaki. How in the world did you do that? I was just looking through the Tips section of your blog, it is so helpful! This weekend I will try making egg sheet. I am really excited to try it! And I definitely think you could make a book, you are so talented.

The girl n boy are so cute, I love the long haired girl with the flower, so sweet. Must try the Korean mixed grain but doubt the kids will eat it.

hello once again Lia! umm i'm just going to make a little request, can you umm take a peek on my blog (if you would actually consider it as a blog). it's http://mylifeasamom-riofrancisco.blogspot.com. i'm kinda embarassed and proud at the same time and i'm very proud to say that you have inspired me. really! hope you can take a little look. thanks! :D

@Sonoma Bento : Thanks a lot Michelle! I will share the tips to make the heart shapes tamagoyaki and post it soon in the blog. I love our bento community, each one of you is very kind and supportive. I think that make my bento journey so fun, learned a lot too :)

@anna2003 : Thanks a lot Karen! Is actually no funny tastes or smells on it. As long as we tell the healthy story of it and encourage them to try new things, they will be fine :)

@Rio : I just hoped to your blog. That is awesome! Glad that you start blogging your journey in bento making. Excited to see more of your bento soon :)

thank you so much Lia for your very encouraging words, i will practice and practice and practice more. my friends told me that bento making and designing food consumes a lot of time and you need lots of tools to create perfect shapes and designs but i told them that bento making is fun and your kids will love it. you don't need different tools, just use your creativity and imagination and be resourceful. thanks again for viewing my so-called blog. :D

Oh my gosh that is so freaking cute!! I agree with SusanK, I am also fascinated at how organized, neat and even spontaneous your bentos look! You come up with the most creative imagery. Did you know, when I was growing up.. I thought the word 'love' did not exist in the korean language because my parents were so old fashioned, they never said it to us kids. Never. Someone once told me, 'sarangheyo' and I asked what this meant to my mom and she said, 'oh that just means I love you'. Haha! Wow. Guess it's not that big on her list. lol. This is sooooo cute. I hope Audrey enjoyed her kongbap hearts! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend too!

@Chantale : Thanks a lot Chantale! Not only your parents, my parents too are very hard to express their love to their kids. So sometimes we are confuse hehehe ... We knew they love us of course but they never said 'I love you' to me or to my sister and little brothers until now. I won't do that to my kids of course :)