I Heart Bento becomes new lunch option

I Love Bento becomes new lunch option

When Cupertino’s pioneer frozen yogurt shop bade farewell a few months ago, MVHS students were among the mourners. After all, I Heart Yogurt had been the host of numerous fundraisers and after-school get-togethers, not to mention a source of delicious cold treats.

But now there is a new store standing where I Heart Yogurt had been, with an almost identical name—I Heart Bento. As the name suggests, this new eatery offers selections of various “bento” boxes (Japanese lunch boxes), which include items ranging from grilled salmon to “tonkatsu” (pork cutlet). Everything is made directly in the kitchen by owner Kitty Chen and her family.

Chen—the mother of class of 2007 alumnus Willie Chen and class of 2009 alumnus Eric Chen, and the aunt of senior Olivia Lin—has been in the food business for 25 years, having owned a catering company prior to I Heart Bento. One loyal customer is senior Grace Chang’s mother, who has bought food from Chen for 20 years.

“In the beginning, we opened a restaurant [just to] make a living,” Chen said. “But then, [after] cooking every day, we [realized] we should to something more for customers, like giving them good food in a very convenient way at a very reasonable price… so they can enjoy it every day.”

Chen chose to sell bento boxes because they carry a variety of foods, such as meat, vegetables, and rice, providing a fully nutritious meal in one simple container. Bento boxes are healthy, a quality Chen considers very important. All the ingredients used in I Heart Bento are fresh and cooked with little oil and fat to keep it light.

Chen, who fondly recalls her sons’ recently deceased former water polo coach Ron Freeman enjoying the food she cooked for the teams, has deep connections to MVHS and hopes students will enjoy her bento boxes.