Zojirushi SZ-FC03WB Mini Bento Stainless Lunch Jar

I own a Mr. Bento lunch jar and that thing is so massive that I rarely use it because I don't always have the time to pack 4 layers of food. I also own a little Mini Bento, but gosh darn it, that one is a little too small and much better suited for my 1st grader. I got this from Zojirushi to do a review and have to say that this one is finally just the right size, even though it's called the same thing as my other Mini Bento.

The side dish containers are slightly bigger than the other Mini Bento and are rectangular instead of circular. It fits just the right amount of food for my liking and the bag is just beautiful. It's got a zipper full across the top with a nice pull. Inside the bag, you put the thermal jar in with the two sides, then there's a detachable (with velcro) folding holder for your drink. There's also a pocket to tuck a small bag of snacks inside, like maybe fruit leather or a mini pouch of popcorn. The set also comes with a pair of white chopsticks in a matching blue holder.

The food in the photo is a little deceiving, as you can't put the lids on with food sticking out like that, but you can definitely stuff a lot of little goodies in. The thermal jar would be really great to fill with a hearty stew or curry, then top with a "rice hat". Veggies and eggs can go in one side and fruit for dessert in the other.

People serious about packing home lunch that want to do it with adult style will no doubt love this set. It's probably better suited for medium appetites, so think hard about how much food you want to pack every day before you take the plunge with one of these products, because the price tag can be hard to swallow. If you only intend to own one lunch set though, it's hard to go wrong with a Zojirushi one.

We bought this for our daughter to use at school. We have had such little luck with durability and storage with kids lunch bags, and she wanted a way to bring hot food to school. This is a perfect bag. Very little cons about it. The space is big and can fit quite a bit in there. The little storage containers are perfect for child sized snacks, and easy for her to open herself. There is a space for her to put her water bottle inside the bag, standing upright which she loves. We eat a lot of asian food, and she is so happy to have her own set of chopsticks to eat like her daddy. The container that keeps food cold or hot is great, and it works. She took some macaroni and cheese to school and it was hot when she opened it at lunchtime after packing it at 7:30 in the morning. When she came home and I opened it to clean it, what was left inside was still slightly warm! At 4:20 in the afternoon!!

The cons are:

The bag zips, but there are 2 small openings on either side of the zipper. Some things have fallen out, the chopsticks being one of them.

The container to hold hot/cold food is not leak proof, so her hope to bring soup with her can't be done.

No english version of directions came with this, not that you really need it. However, for me it took a photo to show me to pour hot water into the metal container and let it heat up, dump it out and then put in the insert with the hot food to keep it hot.

Really, aside from not being leak proof, these other things are not a big deal.

We will be purchasing more of these bags, since my son will be going to school next year and we would like him to have a durable and good lunchbag.

Highly recommended.

First let me inform you that this bag is about 12x9. The food container is about 4"x 3.5 and is not suitable for an adult's office lunch, maybe breakfast if you are a having cereal and fruit. I was misled by a reviewer who said this was a step up from the Ms. Bento IT IS NOT! Tragic mistake. The bag can hold other containers, so I will have to do that in order to make up my meal but I do not get to escape the use of a microwave which is what I was aiming for. The Stainless steel canister fits loosely around the plastic container and is to supposed to be removed in order to put hot water in the metal part. It fits loosely, there is no way for it attach to the plastic container, it seems like i could as well have bought a stainless steel cup and try the same thing of heating it up and dropping a plastic container in it. The chop sticks are the bright side, they are very cute and are textured on the tip for easy gripping. Overall, I am not happy with this product, the descriptions did not temper my expectation and I hope that I have done that for you. The other bento boxes seem to have an attachment thing to keep the bowl and container together, perhaps they are as described. I dont know if i would every take the risk another bento box set buy again. Receiving them really upset my day.