CHEF SAMBRANO Food Articles Video Recipes

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Maui- Bento Lunches a Popular Item Visitors Should Know

"What is that there bento lunches ya all Maui locals talk bout, wut da hell is that huh?" 
Hold on there mister Jackerander, slow down pal, take a  deep breath and let me Chef Ron talk you through what a bento is. 


1. It is usually sold in the grab and go section of small mom and pop markets, and recently major chain supermarkets are selling it too. A bento or box lunch has any kind of items in side of it, you name it, it's in it.


2. You need to have your partner or lover with you when you purchase a bento, locals buy a bento when we are heading to the beach, a softball game, or after a funeral, or after a hard day of doing nothing.


3. Get a water when purchasing a bento because usually bentos aren't the healthiest of foods, although some natural food stores serve up vegetarian bentos.


4. Oh yeah, it comes in different sizes.


5. Make sure you never leave a bento unattended, it may get ripped off, and the M.P.D. doesn't give a shit about a stolen bento, they have enough trouble of their own.


6. If you can't finish your bento, it may have a long shelf life because of the high sodium chloride or salt used in the foods.


7. You can sneak a bento into the movies, an average bento is about 6.00 to 10.00, and much more fillling than that lame ass hot dog and popcorn.


8. Take it on your next flight home, airline foods suck.


9. Usually, most places that serve up bentos will have their display shelves filled with bentos around 9am in the morning and it is sold out by noon, and there's the shitty ones leftover.


10. Just enjoy our culture.


Pictured below is a Fried Chicken Bento from Blackies Pitstop in Lahaina, and the Shell gas station on Kapunakea (Kah poo han kay ah) street and highway 30 across from Safeway at the Lahaina Cannery Mall.


It has one musubi (moo soo bee) which is a white rice formed into a rectangular shape wrapped in nori (noh ree) a seaweed wrap used in sushi, a traditional musubi has an ume in the middle a salty plumb, 2 pieces of deep fried Maui chicken thighs, and one red Maui hot dog sliced in half. the cost? After 12 noon it is half price, so this cost less than $3.00.


Photo: Ron Sambrano


Other bentos may include:
Fried fish
Pulled pork
Breaded pork
Chow fun noodles
Chow mein noodles
Pinacbet (a Filipino braise)
Pork and peas
Hamburger patties
Meat loaf
Spam
Short ribs
Sweet and sour spare ribs
Beef tomato
and various other local favorites, some places really get creative.


Where can you find a bento?


Nagasako Okazu Ya and Deli-Lahaina
Pukalani Superette- Pukalani
Takamiya's- Wailuku
ABC Stores in various locations
Foodland Supermarkets various locations
Time's Supermarkets- Honokowai and Kihei
Napili Market- Napili
Foodland Farms-Lahaina
Sam Sato's- Wailuku (Get a plate to go and that''s your bento)

No comments:

Post a Comment