Aladdin bento box review

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COST: *****
I gave the cost 5 stars because I managed to buy the Aladdin bento box while on sale in a shop called Boyes and while this doesn’t reflect Aladdin I though I would include this.
Boyes sold ( and may still sell ) the boxes. The large boxes are £9.99 and the smaller ones are £4.99 instead of the £18-£20 I noticed online.


DESIGN:****
These boxes feature a range of designs, while the box shape ( a circular tube) is consistent among all the boxes, the colours and images does differ. The larger “adult” boxes are a block colour, often muted although I have come across some brightly coloured ones. The adult ones often are split into two tiers.
The smaller “kids” boxes ( the ones I have) have bright designs on such as a pink flowery one for girls, and a blue one with a city scene and little green aliens aimed at boys.
It’s nice to have a range that is aimed at the whole family, so they can all have a box from the same company but retain their own style.

PACKING: ***
I found it difficult to pack, packing food into round containers is never easy. But the Aladdin container seems to make it harder by being very deep. This box is definitely not for people who like to make decoben or very cute bento. I find this box would best be suited to soups and other “wet” food.

SIZE : **
While the smaller box is 600ml ( around the same as most of my other boxes) most of this is made up in depth so the box actually feels very small inside, while being a lot more space consuming on the outside.

KEEPING FOOD WARM/COLD:
****
I packed the food while pipping hot and left it for around 4/5 hours. Upon opening the box I was greeted by food that felt just as hot as when I packed it. The only downside is that the chilli con carne I packed became very watery due to condensation from everything. So while it keeps food hot,if you don’t want soggy food it would be easier to just microwave the food in the box ( but this does take away one of the boxes main selling points)

OVERALL:
***
While I was slightly disappointed with the result in the soggy chilli con carne I prepared, it could have been a lot worse, at least the food kept hot, cold and soggy food would have made me dislike the box. This box, being different from normal bento boxes, has its own set of rules for what works best and it does those well. You have to view this box on its own merits, if you want a cute box to pack hello kitty rice and Sakura-cut carrots, this box isn’t it, but of you want a rugged box to take camping or hiking and to keep your soup extremely hot, this is the box for you. If I had paid the full amount I think I would be a little let down as they do seem relatively expensive for the amount of use I personally would get out of them, but if you find one for cheaper I would recommend buying, that way you can make up your own mind about the items in question.

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I am in no way affiliated with the Aladdin company. This is an independent review and I have had no payment for this review.