My daughter and I decided to go back and try Bento Café. The first time I went, I really enjoyed the dumplings –and the sushi wasn’t bad (just enormous!), so I was curious to see if the other food was good. The menu is quite extensive ranging from noodles to what else-- Bento boxes.
We both got a lunch Bento Box. Considering the amount of food you get with them, the $7.95 price tag is pretty reasonable. You get a crab Rangoon, a fried spring roll, 4 pieces of California roll and then your entrée, which you choose. Ok, it’s a lot of food, but honestly, the only thing that stood out for me was my entrée, which I really enjoyed. I had the basil ginger chicken, which had a nice slightly spicy edge and lots of fresh basil in it, giving it a lot of depth of flavor. The white meat chicken was very thin and actually very tender—the slices were pretty big, I would have actually appreciated a knife and fork to cut them with. There were a bunch of veggies in there—my favorites were the zucchini, the onions and the mushrooms. There were also very thin sliced carrots and some green bell pepper. The California rolls were basic and are never my favorite, so I am not a great judge. These were fine, but fake crab is pretty meh to me. The spring roll and crab Rangoon were nice to add a bit of crunch to the whole deal, but honestly, I would just be happier with the entrée and some rice. It does not appear that just ordering a rice plate is an option.
My daughter ordered the chicken teriyaki and we were both less impressed with it—it was a filet of chicken breast that was grilled and covered in a very sweet teriyaki sauce. The chicken suffered from being a little tough and chewy—it was not at all like the chicken in my dish, which was clearly stir-fried and much more tender.
Both entrees also came with miso soup. This was a pretty good one—it had a lot of very small dices of tofu and a slightly lighter, but more opaque color than most. I don’t find a huge variety in miso soup, but if I were going to rank it, I’d put it slightly above average. I didn’t re-order the seafood dumplings this time because I felt like we had so much food coming when we ordered that it would be too much (I was correct) but they are still the best thing I have had at Bento Café and I wish I could get a small rice or noodle dish with an order of those instead of all the extras that come in the Bento Box.
It is a cute little interior with modern light fixtures that my daughter declared were very cool. It has a little more design flare than a lot of quick service sushi places. The servers are pleasant.
So anyone else been there?
Bento Café
9778 E. 116th Street
Fishers, IN 46037
317/578-8803
We eat here on occasion since it's right down the street. You can easily split the dinner box between two people. Prices are really good too!
ReplyDeleteI was a fan when they were new, but the quality of the fresh sushi has dropped so sharply, it's sad. The hot Chinese and Thai style dishes are ok, and the staff are friendly enough, but I only go now when my book club friends insist upon it.
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