Students that are tired of the same old soup-and-sandwich routine now have something new to try on campus. High-quality cultural dining has made its debut in The Commons with the opening of Oh Bento!, a Japanese restaurant that fuses authentic cuisine with modern favorites. Translating to "lunch box" in Japanese, the student-friendly Oh Bento! is the perfect place to take refuge when looking for a unique dining experience.
The atmosphere of Oh Bento! puts the customer immediately at ease, with its soothing cinnamon-red walls, dark wood furniture, and soft Japanese music playing in the background. The ordering counter is framed by a wooden pagoda paradoxically decorated with graffiti. Behind the counter is a large chalkboard that lists all of the menu options.
Main menu options include the traditional Oh Bento! meal, consisting of a choice of meat accompanied by white rice and two side dishes. Meat is prepared in one of two ways - teriyaki or katsu. Teriyaki is a savory brown sauce served over chicken, beef, or shrimp. The chicken teriyaki is delicious, and costs $6.29 for a hefty portion. The katsu is a choice of pork, chicken, calamari, or shrimp, which is then deep-fried. The calamari katsu is hearty and delicious, and costs $6.99.
For students wishing to try a little bit of both, the sampler platter is served up with the customer's choice of two Oh Bento! options, plus white rice and side dishes for $6.99. Every meal is served in a take out container disguised as actual dishware and comes with chopsticks.
The restaurant also offers a variety of sushi rolls, including vegetable, California, salmon, shrimp, and tuna rolls. A sampler sushi platter costs $6.50, and all sushi is made from fresh ingredients.
According to owner Jun Hwang, all the restaurant's ingredients are imported from New York City from the two biggest Japanese cuisine companies in the US. When opening Oh Bento!, Hwang's goal was to cater to college students who he feels work hard academically and deserve to dine on high-quality food.
"We guarantee quality and 100 percent satisfaction," Hwang said.
For vegetarian customers, the menu offers an exclusive section of vegetarian options of all the other dishes. Must-haves include the delicious fried tofu salad - tofu fried in a zesty brown sauce atop a bed of greens. The salad costs $5.50 and comes in a hearty portion.
For students looking for the most food for the lowest cost, there is the okomiyaki, a traditional Japanese pancake consisting of chopped shrimp, clam, chives, bacon, onion, scallops, and crabmeat. It costs only $3.50 and is comes in a generous amount.
To wash down the delicious food, Oh Bento! offers a variety of Japanese soft drinks, including Calpico, a fruity drink adorned with Hello Kitty insignias. They also offer delicious bottled green teas, which according to Hwang are traditionally drank after every meal, and believed by the Japanese to help digest oils.
To top off the meal, Oh Bento! offers a juice bar that serves a popular drink known as bubble tea. These delicious drinks are made with either a fruit or milk base, to which a chosen flavor is added. Tapioca pearls, or "bubbles," are chewy edible balls that are added to the bottom of the cup. Some favorite flavors are peach, lychee, mango, taro, almond, and coffee. Taro, a milk-based bubble tea that tastes like cookies and cream, is a top seller. All bubble teas cost $3.50 and are served with extra-wide brightly colored straws.
According to Hwang, students have been more than willing to try the different cuisines.
"I have a lot of new students coming every day and trying new things," Hwang said. "I've never heard a complaint."
Hwang also encourages student exposure to Asian culture by hand-selecting music videos from China, Japan, and Korea, which are then broadcasted onto a large flat-screen television in the corner of the dining area.
This restaurant brings a funky twist to authentic Japanese cuisine and promises to satisfy each and every customer with their top-notch quality. The dining room offers a spectacular view of Lake LaSalle and is the perfect spot to unwind between classes or on a lunch date with friends. Rating: 4 out of 4 chopsticks!
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
