30 March 2006

Bento In Tally

The secret to getting authentic Chinese food...is to know other Chinese people.

In Tallahassee, there is a well-kept secret to getting the perfect Chinese bento box. There is no restaurant and no vending area whatsoever. Just a telephone number to call and order a box for the day.

Mrs. Chen's Lunchbox is one of Chinese students' best kept secret for wonderful food, and the price is only five dollars a box. Because it is a small business operation (it is run by a couple from Taiwan), they try to keep the order size small. Contrary to what I thought, they deliver to ANYONE, Asians, non-Asians...whatever. They deliver the orders to the customers and fees are paid up front.

Bento box is one of those traditional fast-food for East Asians. Koreans, Japanese and Chinese have enjoyed this type of lunch for many many years. The picture below is an example of a very expensive Japanese bento box:


So...if you want a box and you happen to be on FSU campus, you can get their number by asking around (or leave me a comment). I assure you, you'll love the food.

All the orders come with rice and vegetables.

Menu for 4/3/2006 to 4/21/2006
Monday: Spicy Marinated Chicken
Tuesday: Sauteed Fish with Stir-fry Rice
Wednesday: Japanese-style Fried Chicken
Thursday: Stir-fry Ham and Rice, with Shrimp
Friday: Spicy Chicken With Rice

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, can I get the number for them? Are they still around? (I know this was posted a few years ago)

DJ Were-Panda said...

Hi Julie, no unfortunately I think they graduated shortly after I left in 2006. The person who made the box lunches is the wife of an engineering student at FSU, so this was very much a home-run business.

However, I would like to suggest for an interesting (but non-asian) breakfast/lunch place called Canopy Road Cafe. I was there just a few weeks ago and liked it a lot. It has an Indiana Jones theme to the menu, you might enjoy it. :) Good luck!