A recent New York Times article reported on the “culture-packed” Taiwanese-style lunchboxes sold by a shop in New York City’s Chinatown.
The article was titled “A Meal (and History) in a Box at Taiwan Bear House”. The restaurant opened in June last year.
The article explained that the boxed meals are called “bian dang” – the Chinese rendering of the Japanese word “bento.” The word became familiar in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule in the first half of the 20th century. It said a lunchbox sells for less than US$10 and provides enough energy for a day. The food is served in a biodegradable wooden box which is not divided into compartments like a Japanese bento. Instead, the different foods are stacked vertically, with a base layer of rice topped with braised minced pork, stir-fried cabbage, a hard-boiled egg and tofu cubes.
The report said the highest compliment one can give is that it’s just as good as the lunchboxes sold on Taiwan’s trains. This is a reference to the bian dang sold by the Taiwan Railways Administration that are locally celebrated. The New York restaurant is run by Taiwanese founders who had no culinary background and went to the US for graduate school.