Bian Dang (便當/便当) Bento Box

Bian Dang (便當/便当) Bento Box

Bian dang (便當/便当) (pinyin with tones: biàn dāng), or bento box, is omnipresent in Taiwan. It is like a “default option” for lunch and dinner in daily life when someone has no idea what to eat. The word bian dang comes from Japanese “弁當べんとう.” It is first sold at train stations in the late nineteenth century in Japan, which later influenced the bian dang culture of Taiwan when it was under Japanese rule.

Tie Lu Bian Dang (鐵路便當/铁路便当) Railway Bento Box

 

Tie Lu Bian Dang (鐵路便當/铁路便当) Railway Bento Box

You may notice that most tie lu bian dang (鐵路便當/铁路便当, railway bento box) use wooden bento boxes as containers. In the beginning, they used shell ginger leaves to wrap it as a triangular rice ball so it is called fan bao (飯包). That is how the illustrious Chihshang Fanbao (池上飯包) is named and now it has become a chain store. Besides Chihshang Fanbao in Taitung, Fenqihu Biandang (奮起湖便當) in Alishan and Fulong Biandang (福隆便當) in New Taipei City are also famous. Unlike Chihshang Fanbao, Fenqihu Biandang and Fulong Biandang can only be found locally. Fenqihu Biandang offers several entrée such as soy braised chicken drumsticks, braised pork chops, and roasted pork belly, whereas Fulong Biandang serves fixed variety of entrée and side dishes.

 

Bian Dang Dian (便當店) Bento Shop

Bian Dang Dian (便當店) Bento Shop

Bian dang dian (便當店) you can see on the street is the localized outcome of bento shops in Taiwan. Bian dang dian gives you a variety of choices of entrée and side dishes. Usually you may choose one entrée and three to four side dishes for one bento box. Sometimes they offer soup and drinks like dong gua cha (冬瓜茶, winter melon tea), hong cha (紅茶/红茶, black tea), and yang le duo (養樂多/养乐多, yakult). There is another kind of bian dang dian we call it zi zhu can (自助餐), self-serve bento shop. Since you can pick whatever you like, there is no limit of the amount. After filling your bento box, just take it to the cashier, he or she will tell you how much does the bento cost by weighing it or calculating how many dishes you have picked (or sometimes they just estimate by eyes).

「小時候總是爸媽幫我帶便當，有時候前一天晚上沒有準備，隔天他們還會早起現煮、現切水果。甚麼時候換我做便當給他們呢？」——Mosa 許願

#BianDang(便當/便当)的英文

#WhatIsBentoBox?
#biandang
#bento
#便當