Chicago - any place to get bento box supplies?

[SarahKate]

Hi all,

We are taking a little trip to Chicago this weekend and I'm just wondering if any of my fellow DISers might know where to get bento supplies?

I went to Mitsuwa Marketplace back in November and they had a SMALL selection. Kind of sad, because I recall 4-5 years ago they had a lot more things than they do now.

We were thinking about going to Chinatown to see how it is - maybe eat somewhere and see some of the shops. Maybe they have some there?

I LOVE making bento lunches for my DD8. I don't make them fancy, but I just love that they are compartmentalized and the sections are nice and small and you don't have much empty space left over.

 

[akcire]

Hi all,

We are taking a little trip to Chicago this weekend and I'm just wondering if any of my fellow DISers might know where to get bento supplies?

I went to Mitsuwa Marketplace back in November and they had a SMALL selection. Kind of sad, because I recall 4-5 years ago they had a lot more things than they do now.

We were thinking about going to Chinatown to see how it is - maybe eat somewhere and see some of the shops. Maybe they have some there?

I LOVE making bento lunches for my DD8. I don't make them fancy, but I just love that they are compartmentalized and the sections are nice and small and you don't have much empty space left over.

I would try a couple of places in Naperville. At the intersection of Ogden and Naperville road there is a giant grocery store that attracts Asian people from all over the midwest, it is less than 2 miles from I-88. People literally drive for hours to shop. It is called Super H mart. I have been there a few times, and it has been featured on TV and newspapers, they have an entire aisle of different rices. They also have home goods store, which has tons of stuff, including full size appliances imported from Asia. You should be able to call them and inquire if they have what you need, any time I have had packaging questions I was able to find someone to translate. (If they don't sell what you want, they can probably tell you who would.)

Here is a link to the stores site: http://www.hmart.com/

Additionally, there is a smaller Korean owned grocery store with a restaurant inside of it on the other side of the street. I think it is called Asia Supermarket, but it is located almost directly behind the McDonald's. (In college, my roommate was Korean and I got addicted to some Korean candy--so I have been known to make a purchase a couple times a year at this store).

Here is a review on Yelp of the smaller store:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/asia-supermarket-naperville

In Chicago, there used to be tons of Asian stores/restaurants on Devon Street, but I don't know if that is still true. I haven't been there in more than 10 years, the quality of Asian food available in the suburbs has increased so much we no longer bother to drive into the city. I know there have been an influx of Indian owned businesses in that area, and I don't know what type of effect that has had on the Asian businesses.

I am sure there are other areas in Chicago to shop, these are just the places I know of that may meet your needs.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Why don't you just look online? There are many, many online sites selling these; there is even a large selection on Amazon.

 

[brat]

I live in AZ so no help for local but also love bento boxes. We bought some through Amazon. We also love egg molds.

 

[princesspwrhr]

All 5 of my family members use a version of a Bento box for lunches. It's from a company called Laptop Lunches (.com) and we LOVE them. The new 2.0 version is more versitille than the original, but even the original is great. All the peices go in the dishwasher and there is enough room to make sure that a well balanced meal is provided. If you have access, the peices are also microwave safe.

 

[SarahKate]

Thank you everyone for the responses so far!!!

We are going to check out Mitsuwa, as it's close to where we're staying. And then we'll check out H-Mart on our way home.

I've seen the websites with the bento supplies and salivate over all of the cuteness. But some of the stuff is way overpriced (not always the cost of the item, but the shipping) and I just want to SEE some things in person.

My husband is half Japanese and we love going to these places, so it will be fun for us.