I live in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The locations are around the vicinity of Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.
1. My favorite is the Japanese 100Yen store. Most items in the shop sells for RM5/=. Currently, they sell minimal Bento items. I like to shop here because most of their Bento’s are made in Japan. Mostly, theirs are the traditional 2 tier Bentos that require a Bento strap to keep together.
However, if you visit often enough, they do have occasional new items, which are few but far in between. Bento items sold at the 100Yen store (when available) are basically:
• Bento boxes,
• Bento bags,
• Chopsticks for Bento,
• Cutlery for Bento,
• Kitchen utensils for Japanese food cooking and
• Some Japanese ingredients for Japanese cooking.
There is also other non-Bento related stuff too. I’ve always been asked for the addresses so here it is.
100Yen outlet address:
• Petaling Jaya 52, Jalan SS2/61, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
• Taman Connaught 94, Jalan Cedas, Taman Connaught, 5600 Cheras
• Taman Pertama 63, Jalan 2/90, Taman Pertama, 3 ½ miles Cheras, 56000 K.L.
• Klang 10GF, Lorong Batu Nilam 3D, Bdr Bukit Tinggi Shoplots, 41200 Klang
• Puchong Jaya 18, Grd Flr, Jalan Bandar 7, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Selangor
• Sg. Long 32, Jalan SL6/6, Bdr Sg. Long, Batu 11 ¼, 4300 Cheras, Kajang
New 100Yen outlet opening after mid July in Uptown, Damansara Utama.
Opposite to Uptown Towers 2.
Below are samples of Bento's that I have purchased from them.
2. If you are buying for children, there are lots of Barbie, Thomas Train, Barney single layer lunch boxes where they even have a divider in between.
You can get these at:
• Parkson or Jusco at 1Utama.
• Isetan, in KLCC and most major departmental stores.
Look in the stationary section where they sell pencils and school bags.
3. If you are buying for adults and prefer something not so ‘cutesy’ then look up this brand “Lock & Lock”. It’s available in all the kitchen sections of major departmental stores (Parkson, Jusco, Isetan etc).
Very often, there is a 20% discount during the sale periods and personally I think this is a great product. There are sectioned boxes, some remove-able some not. I like their small bottles, which I often use to freeze fruit juices for my kids.
I don’t use the Lock & Lock boxes for Bento but I do use them for freezing my stock for Bento. My frozen Gyoza, Spam musubi, Mac & Cheese, leftover cooked meats, spaghetti/pizza sauce etc, etc. goes into the varied sized boxes.
Best thing is they all come with snap locks on four sides and you don’t have to worry about spillage and spoilage. They are stain resistant, microwave safe, freezer safe, and dishwasher safe.
4. Alternatively, if shopping and searching for a suitable Bento box from complex to complex is not on your agenda, then you can purchase on-line from the comfort of your own home.To be honest, I’ve been conned before by e-bay sellers and having being singed, I’m quite skeptical about buying on-line.
When I found a local vendor “New Stylish Tokyo” selling some quite comprehensive Bento stuff on-line, I couldn’t resist the temptation and took the risk to purchase some stuff from them.
I’m happy to say that I am completely satisfied with their service and support. I think most of their pricing is reasonable compared with many e-bay sellers and the best thing is, their postage/shipping cost is almost negligible (for local delivery).
Certain items may be on the high side if compared to what one would pay buying from Daiso. But the nearest outlet is in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and the next one in Singapore.
New Stylish Tokyo shipping charges are cheap so it makes sense to buy from them because it balances off the cost of the item which makes it reasonable in the final calculations.
If you are intending to purchase on-line then there are lots more choices and with a little effort to research, you can have anything your budget permits.
Personally, the shipping cost is way beyond what I want to pay for. I noticed that often, the shipping cost is more than the item itself.
All said and done, I want to add that if you want to start to bento, you can go for the practical methods like using an existing Tupperware that you own at home or buy a practical container.
No need to go 'insane' like me hoarding up shelves and shelves of Bento gear. I excuse myself for this 'addiction' because I keep telling myself that it goes a long way just because I have 3 kids.
One already past the stage of taking Bento to school. One has another year and a half to go and the last kid who brings food that don't qualify as "Bento material" so I stopped blogging about her box for a while until I can get her eating 'food' again!
Disclaimer: Please be informed that I have no affiliations with the 100Yen stores or Lock & Lock or all the mentioned Departmental stores or New Stylish Tokyo other than being a regular paying customer. All opinions are mine personally and does not serve to be or claim to be an authority of any sort. I receive no monetory rewards or discounts from any of these mentioned stores (other than commercially available discounts for all customers) or any other companies or persons mentioned in this article.
