There are a lot of things you might think of when you think of lunch, like maybe how much you could go for some right now, but "adorable" might not be the first word that springs to mind.
But it certainly will be when you see the incredible almost-too-cute-to-eat lunchbox creations of Li Ming Lee of Bento Monsters, a stay-at-home mom in Singapore who creates intricate lunches for her two sons every day.
Ming creates lunches in the traditional Japanese style called "bento," a single-serve lunch that comes appealingly packaged in a box-shaped container.
A regular bento is appetizing enough, but Ming takes things a step further and creates what's known as "kyaraben," or "character bento," where the food is decorated and shaped to look like popular characters from movies and TV.
Since starting her blog, Ming has made hundreds of these adorable lunches. And while creating art out of food — or in the case of one artist, wine — is something done all over the world, Ming's are extra cute thanks to their recognizable characters and the inventive way she uses different kinds of foods.
Check out her sweet lunches below, and let us know which one is your favorite!
[H/T: deMilked]
Ming started making these adorable lunches back in 2011, when her older son started going to elementary school.
He was having trouble adjusting to the longer hours and missed his mother, so Ming started creating these little characters to cheer him up and remind him of her.
And when her younger son started school, he of course wanted to be just like his big brother, and so Ming started making them for him, too.
Ming started photographing her creations, too — after all, they're certainly noteworthy! At first, she kept them in a scrapbook, but soon switched to a blog when the photos started piling up.
To date, she's experimented with traditional Asian dishes, as well as desserts, breakfasts, and much more, and drawn inspiration from all kinds of media and characters.
And if these Winnie-the-Pooh donuts aren't just the cutest things you've ever seen, well, we don't know what to tell you.
Her creations can get pretty out-there, too, like this ham-and-egg bouquet to celebrate Valentine's Day.
She's also able to see the potential in foods that wouldn't normally go into a bento box, like these pull-apart buns that have been decorated to look like Totoro.
And her characters also turn up in beverages like tea and hot cocoa.
And while some of her creations are obviously complex and time-consuming, others, like this cute pancake bear, are actually quite simple.
And they don't have to be big, either, to be adorable.
And she can use just about anything to turn a meal into a delightful experience. But she prefers to stick to simple ingredients like eggs, bread, vegetables, and rice.
Even spaghetti gets the bento treatment.
And of course she themes her dishes based on the time of year, like these Christmassy treats.
Some foods, like rice and the Chinese pastry mooncake are easy to sculpt, which makes forming them into characters and shapes all the easier.
And some characters just come naturally!
You can see many more of Ming's creations on her website, where you can also find tutorials and recipes, and you can follow along with her newest dishes on Instagram. You can also buy her book on Amazon.
And be sure to SHARE Ming's perfectly adorable lunches with someone you know!
