Taiwan Railway Mealbox
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Taiwan Railway Bento () are a type of ''
ekiben are a specific type of ''bento'' boxed meals, sold on trains and at train stations in Japan. They come with disposable chopsticks (when necessary) or spoons. ''Ekiben'' containers can be made from plastic, wood, or ceramic. Many train stations ...
'' (''
bento A is the Japanese cuisine, Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese cuisine, Chinese, Korean c ...
'' boxed meals) manufactured and distributed by the
Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...
at major railway stations and in train cars. It is estimated that, with five million boxed meals sold per annum, the annual revenue from bento distribution is 370 million NTD (approx. US$10 million).please move the references to the appropriate places in the text<-->


History

During the
Japanese era The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...
, train passengers either dined at a
dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...
or opted for an ''ekiben''. However, ''ekiben'' boxes were only available at stations, not in train cars. Under the
Chinese Nationalist Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chin ...
s' rule from 1945 onwards, a variety of private catering services sprang up as railway transportation gained popularity. These services were then integrated by the
Taiwan Railway Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...
in 1960, gradually shaping the major source of revenues of the administration other than transport itself. On 9 Jun 2000, the pork chop ''bento'', which had been discontinued for 32 years, reappeared in public on the Railways Festival. The originally-estimated one thousand boxes to be sold turned out to be a sales of over 90 thousand due to their popularity. On 26 Feb 2015,
Keikyu Corporation (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. mea ...
, a Japanese rail operator, sold Taiwan Railway Mealboxes as a promotional event.


Ingredients and distribution

Although Taiwan Railway Bentos are primarily known for their
pork chop A pork chop, like other meat chops, is a loin cut taken perpendicular to the spine of the pig and is usually a rib or part of a vertebra. Pork chops are unprocessed and leaner than other cuts. Chops are commonly served as an individual portio ...
and rice, they also contain a variety of side dishes, including braised eggs, dried
tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
, pieces of dried white
radish The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an Eating, edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman Empire, Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, be ...
among others. The
Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...
has established five catering zones at Songshan,
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
,
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
, and Hualien railway stations, where staff members of the TRA hand over mealboxes to
car attendant A car attendant is a railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transpor ...
s for on-board distribution. During meal times (11:00-13:00 and 17:00-19:00),
car attendant A car attendant is a railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transpor ...
s walk down the aisle of the train with a trolley, asking if there are passengers who would like a ''bento'' in
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
. The containers were originally made of
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
, which were returned and washed after the contents had been consumed. However, due to exceedingly high costs and low return rates (passengers bringing the steel boxes home without permission), the administration now uses disposable paper boxes.


Railroad Bento Festival

The first Formosa Railroad Bento Festival was set to take place from July 17 to 20, 2015.


See also

*
Taiwanese cuisine Taiwanese cuisine (, Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄌㄧㄠˋㄌㄧˇ, or , Bopomofo:ㄊㄞˊㄨㄢˉㄘㄞˋ) has several variations. The earliest known cuisines of Taiwan are that of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. Over hundred years of histor ...
*
List of pork dishes This is a list of notable pork dishes. Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide,Raloff, JanetFood for Thought: Global Food Trends Science News Online. ...
*
Bento A is the Japanese cuisine, Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese cuisine, Chinese, Korean c ...
*
Rail transport in Taiwan Rail transport in Taiwan consists of (as of 2015) of railway networks. Though no longer as dominant as it once was, rail transport is an extremely important form of transportation in Taiwan due to high population density, especially along the de ...
*
Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...
*
Transportation in Taiwan Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
*


References


Bibliography

* * * {{Taiwanese cuisine Taiwanese cuisine Pork dishes Taiwan Railways Administration Bento