I love a good bento book, isn't a good fit for my library, but would recommend for public libraries that already cater to trending cooking themes. Bentos make everything easier.

If you are a fan of Yuko's highly rated previous cook book "Bento: Over 50 Make-Ahead, Delicious Box Lunches" then this will come as a welcome companion book; but also stands well as an introduction to the meal form. Some photos and recipes are shared between the aformentioned book and this one so it can also be taken as a reworked extended edition.

The ample supply of beautiful photos and well laid out, easy-to-follow recipes make this book an easy inspiration for making lunchtime special for you loved ones.

Yuko takes the time to introduce the packed lunch "culture" and lays out a comprehensive "must have" list for asian pantries (something useful for many other cookbooks...) as well as essential equipment and what to look for when purchasing a bento box. She also adapts it to other cultural cuisine; showing that any person's taste can be accommodated. Honestly, I'm still torn about picking up a physical copy of "Bento,..." or buying this one when it releases but the fact that I'm adding them to my amazon shopping cart over all the others I review says how much I loved her book.

Beautiful, varried, and comprehensive

5 stars

A great variety of bento boxes ranging from traditional (oniguri, somen, etc) to nontraditional (quesadilla for instance) which applies the bento concept to a diverse range of palates which makes this a very useful cookbook for everyone. The recipes are simple which makes assembly accessible.

This is a re-release of their original cookbook Simply Bento. I really enjoyed this cookbook as it has a variety of bento suitable meals that can easily be doubled or tripled to make as a meal with extra leftovers for your bento lunches. I found many recipes I'm excited to make although some I don't think need to be in a bento cookbook like pizza. This book is more focused on adult suitable recipes but I'm sure kids would love some of them. The pictures included were very pretty but many recipes had no pictures so you can't see what its meant to look like.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Race Point Publishing (Quarto Publishing Group) for my complimentary eARC copy.

This is the perfect gift for someone who wants to start making their own Bentos. It really takes you through the concept of Bentos and how to craft them to ensure they are balanced. It is a beautiful book which pictures that really bring to life the recipes. I can't wait to keep gaining and building skills in this area.

Beginning with the pantry staples and continuing with the basics, different ways to make rice, dashi and proteins, this book builds up to the fancier bento. You will learn so much along the way. At the end you will be eating delicious and beautiful bento for lunch or breakfast and be much healthier for it. This is a beautiful and informative book.

I highly recommend this title for beginners of bento meal prep. It is a feast for the eyes and tummy.

Rating 3.5 stars

We in the UK often get soggy sandwiches or limp lettuce for lunch, but in Japan Bento looks so much more delicious than our fare. This book explains how you can make fifty Bento for your lunches the night before with leftovers or cooking a few side dishes ready for the next days lunch.

The book introduction begins with 7 key points from safety to routines, then moves onto storage, accessories and pantry essentials. It then provides details on how to cook the rice, either on the hob or in a rice cooker and a seasoning that can be added to the rice. There are eight chapters on making different bento lunches, plus a chapter for side dishes.

Each recipe comes with clear instructions and provides details on what side dishes and additional ingredients should be used to accompany this main dish. There is also an information box on how to plan ahead when making the dish. Not all the recipes have a colour photograph but some of the photography is repeated in the book which is disappointing. The ingredients are provided in both imperial and metric measurements. The preparation and cooking times are provided along with a portion size, though this time doesn't include making the rice.

Whilst the lunches do look delicious I do rather like to see photographs of what I am supposed to be making and for it to be made clear in the ingredients list that vinegar means Rice Vinegar rather than the brown stuff you splash on your fish and chips! Also the layout feels odd, the beginning Dashi and Furikake recipes seem out of place.

Do note this book was previous published under the title "Simply Bento" in 2018.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

I reviewed this title on my blog and will provide the details directly to the publisher during the next round of this review process.

Absolutely stunning book with so many recipes and ideas in. I'm a huge fan of Japanese food, and this has added to my love more. I particularly loved the section on sandwich bentos, who doesn't want to jazz up their packed lunch?! 5*

I received a review copy from NetGalley.

This cookbook was excellent. I am an avid cook and I like to dabble in all different styles and cuisines so when I saw this I knew that I needed to review it. Especially in my quest to not eat the same old boring lunch every day! I was not disappointed.
The recipes are clear and easy to understand. The recipes are completely authentic so some of the ingredients may be hard to find but not impossible. Oh and did I mention they were delicious?
I guess my biggest criticism is that there weren't enough pictures. Maybe I have been too spoiled but half the fun of looking through a cookbook is drooling over the pictures. That being said, the pictures that were there were definitely drool worthy.
I will definitely be adding a physical finished copy to my cookbook collection!

Bento by Yuko is ok but seems somewhat like a random bunch of recipes pulled together under the heading of 'bento'. To me, bento doesn't just mean putting food items in a bento box, but the balance of flavors and contrasts of food.. Pizza and antipasto don't belong in a 'bento' cookbook. Also, minimal pictures, which is disappointing.

Bento by Yuko is a great introduction to what a Bento is and how they became an iconic meal.

I found the recipes were a good mix of typical Japanese food along with some Western recipes as well. I have found recipes for two of my favourite Japanese dishes and I cannot wait to try them, even though I doubt they will make it into a Bento. I liked a lot of the vegetable recipes and have started making those at dinner. Some recipes had a lot of ingredients while others I found reasonable.

The photos were mouthwatering, and the layout was beautiful.

I received an eARC from Quarto Publishing Group- Race Point through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

I love how in-depth this book is. Never thought there could be so many different bentos! The photos of food are absolutely beautiful too. I hope that I will be able to use this book in the future when I do more meal planning for my family.

Beautifully made and thought out book.
I love how it explains and guides but also gives ideas and reminders to the reader.
Such as a little reminder what to prep and set up for the next day or the small reminder that no matter of well meaning, if it's food the bento box is for doesn't enjoy it, then that's not the right way to do it. So make bento your own, instead of trying to be specific about it.
But besides those small but nice things, the rest of the book is spectacular as well.
The recipes are great and I love that it includes vegan options.
The way the book is made up is also wonderful and make sit easy to find what you are looking for.

I just highly recommend it.
If you are looking for inspiration, recipes or just want to give a new lunch system a try, this bookwill give you what you are looking for,

I was unable to download this for some reason and therefore I cannot provide an accurate review. I also got it just before the archive date. It would be great if the arc for cookery books were also kindle downloads so I could read it on my kindle properly rather than missing the archive.

As a huge fan of Japanese cusine, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book - and I am so grateful to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this title.

This is a fantastic collection of fairly simple yet delicious Vento ideas, turbines I've tried have all turned out great (and been delicious!)

I'll definitely be purchasing a copy of this book so I can try all of the recipes - and re-make the ones I've already tried!

Interesting look at these cute style lunches that can fit in a tiny bin type container. I found the book to have a ton of information regarding the health, making, and purchasing of these bento style lunch products.

What did I like? All the recipes adapt a Japanese style themed lunch that fits in a tiny box. Most of these lunches I pointed out to others made the remark that there wasn’t enough food in them. The cookbook was the first of its kind that I’ve seen and most of the recipes incorporate a type of rice and some beautiful techniques of making a healthy all around meal. Loved the holiday themed lunches.

Would I recommend or buy? If your really into crafting your food and ideally need a well balanced tiny food lunch then you may love this book. I found that although the meals look beautiful I felt like they would take a lot of work to craft these tiny meals. I survive mostly days and weeks on a huge meal that provides a lot of left overs. The book boasts that these are easy.

The book was beautiful and a lot of effort went into making the book. Four stars!

This is a really beautiful and useful book!

Bento: Over 70 Make-Ahead, Delicious Box Lunches includes all the background and instructions you need to make your own bento box lunches. It covers everything from traditional options (e.g., onigiri) to some definitely-not-traditional options (e.g., english muffin pizzas). The recipes are all clear and easy-to-follow and most don't take that much work to make.

With the way the world is right now during coronavirus, packed lunches aren't really a necessity for my household.. However, I will be trying out a bunch of these recipes to make yummy meals at home!

Good introduction to bento. I enjoyed the variety of recipes and the photography was well done. Was wishing there were more accessible recipes for those unfamiliar with Japanese ingredients.

This was an inspirational and well written book about bento. I liked the layout, the sections and there was plenty of interesting recipes.