I'm running late, nothing left in the tank. No time for lunch, so I grab a station bento. I've not tried this one before, and I like the packaging...
It's appetising inside too...
And this is what it looks like deconstructed: half is bara sushi, topped with shrimp and egg, ikura, shiitake, and peas. The other half is this and that: chicken, kamaboko, egg roll, scallop, and a portion of aji-oshizushi... Not bad at all.
But what about that name, Tamate-bako? It comes from the legend of Urashima Taro, a fisherman who decides to spare a large fish he has caught. The fish turns out to be the Princess of the Ocean, who invited him to her underwater palace. Taro stays three days before returning home — seemingly unchanged — only to find that 300 years have passed.
Before he goes back, the princess gives him a special box (hako or bako in Japanese) — called the Tamate-bako — and tells him never to open it. Needless to say he does, and immediately ages to 300-plus years old.
So what does that say about this bento? If you open it, you will age three centuries? Probably not… More likely, it's meant to signify that this is a deluxe seafood (and rice, obviously) meal worthy of a princess's palace.
If anyone has any other ideas, please leave a comment below !
