Shinshu Adult Beef Meal” purchased at Kofu Station is a boxed lunch produced by Marumasa, a long-established Kobuchizawa ekiben shop that offers a wide selection of popular ekiben. The beef, the star of the dish, is grilled over charcoal, and the rice paired with it is an elaborate dish of green rice with chameshi. The beef is of course delicious, and personally, I could eat a whole bowl of the rice alone.
Sandwiched between the rice and sweet and spicy char-grilled beef is wasabi greens with sesame seeds in soy sauce. The wasabi-gai is mildly pungent, with just a hint of soy sauce. The rice, wasabi greens, and beef each have their own distinct flavor, but they all work together very well.
The carrot stew has a crisp texture and the seasoning is slightly sweet. Shiitake mushrooms also have a firm texture, and this one is seasoned sweet and spicy. Sakura pickles are less acidic and also firm and chewy. Both the simmered and pickled vegetables had a strong presence.
The broth-enriched omelette has a fine, smooth texture. It may not look like a very big bento, but the beefy and hearty portion was enough to fill me up.
There are many beef rice bento throughout Japan, and they are not so rare. However, this bento was packed with the charm of Marumasa, which produces many popular ekiben, such as “Wine no meshi,” which won the first place in the overall evaluation at the Ekiben Aji no Jinjin 2021 held by JR East, and “Genki Kai,” which was created from a TV program project. It was a unique bento.
© Source travel watch