Benihana

If you've never  heard of this restaurant...YOU. ARE. MISSING. OUT.
That said, the first thing you should do is get in your car and drive all the way to Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, or Torrance and EAT from there. 

The beautiful temple-decorated restaurant.....*drum roll* BENIHANA


This is one of the few restaurants that provides genuine, authentic, extremely delicious food that would have even you (who probably has never tasted actual Japanese food) say, "Go-chisousama!" -meaning, you had a very good meal.

So, why is Benihana so great, you may ask? Well, as shown in the picture above, this is an interactive meal, where the cooking is part of the entertainment! Every chef in the restaurant prepares the food directly in front of you, and in every occasion, they'll manage to make you laugh, or at the very least crack a smile.


I've been to Benihana about 5 times, so I know the gist of the place, and I'll explain the routine as best I can.

When you walk in, your things are laid out, you can usually alternate between using a fork or chopsticks like typical Japanese restaurants.

1) The waiter takes your order since they need to know which ingredients to give the chef when he comes to cook for you and brings you your drinks, as well. The last time I went, we had a coupon for Benihana that they send to you the month of your birthday so you can get a free Japanese mug, so my sister got the Buddha, and I got a woman in a kimono. Although the last picture shows that there are many many more choices to choose from!
 

2) The waiter asks you if you prefer soup or salad. The soup is a mushroom onion soup and I HIGHLY recommend it, but a lot of people tend to choose the Caesar salad. To each their own.


3) They bring you sauces to put in your food, but I never use them, haha.



4) After this, you have to wait a while for the chef to arrive, but when he does, he pulls up a small cart with all of the utensils he'll need. It'll be a table exactly like this one, which is the typical arrangement in most Benihana restaurants.


5) He'll start off by making the fried rice (or serve you the white rice, but again, I recommend fried rice) and then go on to make noodles for the ones who ordered, hibachi chicken and sushi...and so on. Each time he finishes making a specific thing, he serves it drops the food on the plates for each person that are around the grill. If you notice in the picture above, the plates are ALWAYS next to the grill, and each plate has a serving of something.


6) The chef will clown around! This is typical, and nearly every chef has a lot of charisma, their jokes are usually funny so don't worry about that.

7) After they're nearly done, they'll start to clean up the grill, so you can evidently see that the conditions are very sanitary, which is very important. 

8) EAT! I usually order from the kids' menu, and in case you guys didn't know...I EAT A LOT but I can never finish my meal because the entire meal is too much. You're most likely going to have leftovers and that's really awesome! Reheated Benihana food is still delicious.

On a scale from one to ten, I give Benihana a 100 because it's such a good restaurant it breaks the scale. 
Take your kids, take your fiance, take your sister-in-law, they'll appreciate it more than any boring trip to typical places like Olive Gardens or TGIF's. Just saying....

Bento Boxes!! Oishii-desu ne?

Something that I've always been interested in doing more in-depth research about is making bento boxes.

For those who don't know what bento boxes are, the easiest way to define them is simply by saying that they are the Japanese equivalent of packed lunch boxes. Except of course, bento boxes are more than just a small grilled cheese sandwich with some apple juice. Most of the time, bento boxes consist of white or fried rice made into cute figures, an assortment of vegetables or fruits, and some type of accompanying meat. However, what you place in a bento box is entirely up to YOU.

I've seen a lot of anime (Japanese animation, for those who want to be more specific) where bento boxes are usually made for a guy by a girl who has a crush on him, or maybe a wife for her husband, or a mother making one for her children. Either way, bento boxes have always caught my attention, and I really want to make some.

Some examples would be:

Notice how healthy they look? Not only do they look absolutely delicious, they also inspire the use of more healthy foods. They look really cool, and so, for this post, I decided to look up a step-by-step so we can all make one. I borrowed this from http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/how-to-make-bento/ in case you'd like a fuller description on making bentos.

First you need:

• A bento box (lunch box)
• Silicon baking cups or dividers
• Colorful picks and sauce containers

Make sure you divide the meal proportionally so that you provide an even balance for a healthy meal.

Choose nice colors! It makes the meal more appealing.

Last thing you should be aware of before you start making a bento box is to PACK YOUR BOX TIGHTLY. 

Pack your heavier foods first then add lighter foods on the top. Don't forget to add fruits or vegetables to fill in any empty areas.

So, Step One: Add carbs

Fill the bento about halfway, it doesn't necessarily have to be rice, remember, you can put what YOU want.

Step 2: Put proteins

Any kind of protein source should be packed into 1/4 of the box. If it's possible, try to add two dishes.

Step 3: Put vegetables and fruits

The vegetables and fruits should fill in the other 1/4 of the box. Also, try to add two dishes. If you have more dishes, put them in separate containers.

And that's it! For more instructions as to food preservation and pre-preparation, PLEASE use the link that I included. The guide is very interesting and I'd like it if you all tried it out! :D