Nov 28 2008
Bento Fun #52 - A Birthday Bento
This is Darrius’s Birthday Bento which is a week late but like the phase ‘it’s better late than never’ is always great to use!
Well, not sure if this is a tradition to most Chinese but on birthdays or any festive celebrations, having chicken dishes on the dining table is extremely important. I learned from my mom that in the olden days, most people in China are poor and they can only afford to have chicken for their meals during festive seasons.
Last time my mom used to prepare chicken drumstick on my birthdays… though not every year (since I was away for quite a while). Therefore, it only feels right if I try to carry on this little tradition. Since Darrius can eat almost anything now, I prepared a birthday Bento for him…
I made him his favorite pan-fried soy sauce chicken
and I dyed the quail eggs red! Why quail eggs? Well, knowing Darrius can’t finish 2 chicken eggs I decided to give him quail eggs instead and like usual… quail eggs are so darn cute!
Gave him an orange as a symbol of ‘gold’ so that he will grow up to be prosperous… hehehee… am I that ‘lao-toh’???
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Clockwise from top left: steamed okra with cherry tomatoes on skewers, red quail eggs on a bed of steamed fish, pan-fried soy sauce chicken on a bed of rice with gravy and an orange
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This is the first time I serve okra (lady’s fingers) to Darrius where he eats himself. Normally I will cut until so minuet that he don’t even know they exists. And guess what? He told me “mommy, this lady’s fingers have so many seeds… I don’t want!’
Apart from that, he was a good boy clearing the entire bento.
Another thing which made we very happy is that I finally got my Zodiac skewers which I bought from here and arrived just in time for Darrius’s birthday! I used the Rooster, Moomoo Cow and Piggy ones and they are absolutely gorgeous!
Here is a pic of his happy face when I asked him to sing a Birthday song for himself!
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Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…..




