In the case of Keio Department Store, the most conspicuous place is lined with products planned for the competition, such as “Special Events” and “Confrontation Events. All of the well-known ekiben vendors are selected to prepare (manufacture) the bento, and they are entrusted with this slot only because they are capable enough to be entrusted with a signature product. It is, so to speak, a “battle of pride among ekiben vendors.
Among them, the “Original Famous Ekiben and Nationwide Good Food Festival” held every January at the Shinjuku branch of Keio Department Store is known as “one of the largest ekiben conventions in Japan,” with 47 companies demonstrating and selling approximately 300 kinds of ekiben gathered on the floor. In this article, we will focus on the featured products that appear on the top front page of the flyer in one of the nation’s largest ekiben conventions.
An annual event often held in department stores across Japan every winter is the …… ekiben convention.
Thick scallops and sea urchins with a rich flavor fill the surface, making it difficult just to reach the bottom of the dish! In addition, the salmon flakes and shishamo roe at the bottom of the mille-feuille add a nice accent to the dish, making it a dish that will keep you coming back for more.
Asahikawa Ekiben Tachiyori Shokai, established in 1899, is a long-established and representative local ekiben vendor. As the company name suggests, they continue to sell ekiben on the platform of Asahikawa Station, which is now an elevated station.
It is a luxurious dish with the flavor of meat that lasts forever, partly because the meat is layered tightly between the rice. How the bottom of the millefeuille is stuffed with Soboro/Sukiyaki meat. …… The bento was so heaped up that it overflowed the container by a large margin, even when viewed from the side!
Mito Station, where three ekiben vendors used to compete with each other, all withdrew from the market. Then, at the request of JR, Shimada Foods entered the ekiben industry. The company originally operated an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) in Mito City and is known for ekiben such as “Hitachiniku Gyuu Gyuben. Shimada Foods has been introducing new products that take full advantage of the flavor of Hitachiniku beef in special events every year, and has become a regular at ekiben conventions in various regions.
The Keio Department Store’s “Original Famous Ekiben and Nationwide Good Food Contest” will be held for the 60th time in 2025. To commemorate the event, an ekiben with three layers of rice and three layers of ingredients, alternating like a cake mille-feuille, was introduced. No matter where you eat it from, you will find the ingredients!
The first showdown project in 5 years is “Branded Beef Showdown” & “Seafood Showdown”.
At the ekiben convention at Keio Department Store, where foodstuffs from all over the country are gathered, ekiben shops that use the same ingredients compete with each other with their prized products and local ingredients under the banner of “Showdown.
In the past, the “Beef Doman-chu” (Yonezawa Ekiben, Yamagata Prefecture), which later became widely known as one of the best 10 ekiben for 25 years in a row, was the first to be featured at this ekiben competition. The two new face-offs, which will return for the first time in five years (since 2019, before Corona), are “Hitachiniku Beef vs. Kobe Beef vs. Saga Beef” and “Sea Urchin vs. Crab vs. Abalone: The Summit Showdown of Sea Foods.
© Source travel watch
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