Japan Centre Brings Ekiben Bento to London
Looking for something new to munch on at lunch? Introducing ekiben – Japan’s iconic train station bento – which is being brought to the capital this month by Japan Centre, to switch up lunch on the go for us Londoners.
Ekiben is a mixture of the words ‘eki’ (train station) and ‘bento’ (Japanese boxed lunch) which are found at train stations up and down Japan and usually contain simple ingredients including rice, grilled fish or meat and pickles. To get your hands on one of these exclusive bento boxes, visit Ichiba in Westfield London or Japan Centre on Panton Street, as well as the JR East pop-up in front of Japan Centre Shaftesbury Avenue from 22nd– 28thOctober.
Made with rice – a staple ingredient of the Japanese diet – the first type of ekiben, known as makunouchi bento, can be found throughout Japan and typically contains staple ingredients including grilled fish and pickles. The second type contains food that is more specific to the region, making them the perfect way to explore traditional and local Japanese cuisine.
In Northern Japan, Hokkaido is famous for its delicious seafood, therefore the ekiben there is often filled with local specialities such as stuffed squid or sea urchin. Japan Centre’s debut creations will take you on a whistle-stop tour of Japan. Including a Makunouchi Vegetarian Bento, Chicken Kaarage Bento, Beef Sukiyaki Bento, and Shinkansen Bullet Train Bento which will include fried chicken karaage, prawn fritter, pork sausage, seafood dumpling, french fries and onigiri rice balls.
Sounds delicious and we can’t wait to give it a try!
For more information, visit: https://www.japancentre.com/en
Written by Simran Maine-Hoskins
