LIFTING THE LID ON <i> BENTO</i>

Whirling through the Tokyo traffic, boys struggling to balance precarious stacks of boxes are a familiar sight. They are delivering obento, the traditional “boxed meals” that have been a part of Japanese life for centuries. The tradition began in Kyoto’s Imperial Court when aristocrats had their meals delivered in exquisite lacquerware boxes; today’s bento are not so fancy, but you find them absolutely everywhere.

Travelers buy them at train stations. Since bento vary from station to station, knowledgeable passengers wait until the train reaches a certain prefecture to buy their regional favorites. Caterers deliver maku-no-uchi (“between the curtains”) bento in beautiful lacquerware boxes to Noh and Kabuki theaters. You even find bento sold at baseball games.

And now bento are available here. While you may not find bento at ballgames, you will find the boxes at restaurants and take-out shops. If you like, you can even have them delivered to your office.

DELIVERED

Los Angeles boasts quite a few bento delivery companies; Bishonen, an unassuming neighborhood Japanese restaurant, is one of the best. Owner Koichi Hashimoto delivers a stack of bento every day to downtown buildings like the California First Bank, Tokyo Bank, Tokai Bank and the 510 Building.

Mine held marinated, perfectly deep-fried chicken morsels; crisp curried bean sprouts; Japanese potato salad; a little cup of sweet red beans, and pickles. The separately boxed rice is served with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds and a sour red umeboshi plum. The complete meal is $3.50.

Other than full bento, Bishonen sells varied “small plates”--crisp deep-fried squid strips on lettuce served with homemade dressing, or an omelet stuffed with “Spanish” style rice.

With advance notice, Bishonen also makes up specialty bento for groups. The makunouchi bento, which nowadays signifies any elaborate bento, has 14 different simmered foods, plus fried shrimp and scallops, beef rolled around asparagus, grilled salmon, fried chicken strips and, of course, rice and pickles. Makunouchi are $8 and up. The best time to call for information is about 2 p.m. Group orders are preferred (though all selections need not be the same). Knowledge of Japanese is helpful when ordering, though not required.

Bishonen, 5925 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, (213) 462-7672.

“Dumplings are better than flowers when you are hungry,” is a Japanese saying describing the virtues of simple home cooking. Hase, one of L.A.’s oldest bento delivery companies, offers a monthly menu of changing bento, all without the familiar decorative ceremony of most restaurant food. Pick up a menu from the delivery person or the office on 4th Street. If you don’t find the daily special appealing, try the large mixed sushi bento $4, the chicken teriyaki bento $3, or the vegetable sandwich $3. Hase’s boxes often reflect the eclectic turn modern Japanese food has taken. Typical $3.25 daily specials might be: cold Chinese noodles and onigiri (rice ball) sushi or chicken cutlet, chow mein and potato salad.

Hase delivers daily to many downtown offices and will deliver group orders as far west as Hollywood. To insure getting the bento you wish, call to order between 8 and 10:30 a.m. or one day ahead Monday through Friday.

Hase, 926 East 4th St., Los Angeles, (213) 628-2665.

Nachi catering works much the same way, delivering to many downtown and Hollywood locations. Their amazing $1 mini-bento always includes a smaller portion of the day’s special--grilled ginger beef or deep-fried pork cutlet, plus a big serving of vegetable, pickles and rice. Nachi’s croquette bento comes highly recommended. The croquette of ground meat and corn comes with flavorful yaki soba, the Japanese rendition of stir-fried noodles, plus sunomono salad, fish cake, pickles and rice, and an orange slice for dessert. Nachi bakes rolls for its various sandwiches. Full-sized bento change daily and are $2.50. It’s best to call about 2 p.m. for delivery information.

Nachi Catering, 3407 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 731-7708. BENTO TO STAY

Lunch at Kyoto Sukiyaki takes you from a prosaic shopping-mall facade into a world of discrete elegance. Its handsome dining room is a serene backdrop for the feast to come. A tall oblong of three stacked boxes arrives. As the server ceremoniously separates them, you may be wishing you had a camera, for each of the bento’s compartments is a delectable adventure: Tempura includes lotus root slices stuffed with a vegetable mixture and fried together like little sandwiches. There is sashimi and a bouquet of nimono (simmered foods). Miso-marinated fish is grilled Kyoto style, and a piece of tamago omelet is the silkiest I’ve had in L.A. This feast, with pickles, soup, rice and a mound of freshly cut fruit, is $9.50.

Kyoto Sukiyaki, 15122 S. Western Ave., Gardena, (213)321-1647. Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30-2 p.m.

In a remote corner of the new Little Tokyo Square, tiny Kappo Kyara serves one of downtown’s most seductive yet reasonably priced bento at $7.50. It comes in a tall, treasure-laden stack of graduated lacquer boxes on a tray with a carrying handle like the ones transported to picnics in the Japanese countryside. Included in this opulent spread are little rolls of minced tuna wrapped in nori; three pieces of differently cooked fish, one broiled, one deep fried and one coated with roasted black sesame seeds and grilled; delicate fern sprouts, and rice scattered with thin slices of grilled eel.

Kappo Kyara, 333 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles, (213) 626-5760. Lunch: Mon.-Sat., 11:30 to 2.

Hananoya’s shiohkado bento is the classical square lacquered box with four divisions. The quality at this elegant new restaurant is exceptional.

You are first brought a steaming cup of chawan mushi , the savory steamed custard. Then the box arrives holding four blue ceramic dishes. One contains tuna and rockfish sashimi, another still-sizzling tempura. A third holds nimono and these simmered vegetables demonstrate the kitchen’s skill. Each vegetable’s flavor is true and clean. There are also salt-grilled fish, tamago and a rainbow of pickles.

Although the restaurant has no English sign, crowds have had no trouble finding it at the back of the new Tozai Plaza.

Hananoya, 15460 S. Western Ave., Gardena, (213) 538-0870. Lunch: Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

The chakin zushi popular at take-out shops in Japan, but seldom seen here, is the centerpiece of Tasuki’s chakin bento. This sushi is an almost paper-thin omelet wrapped around a seasoned rice and vegetable mixture, then tied up with an edible bow. A striking arrangement of salad, simmered vegetables, sashimi slices, little pieces of grilled chicken and tamago accompany it. All this is a remarkable $6.50 including the customary soup, pickles, and rice. The Tasuki bento, good but less exotic, is composed of the familiar: sashimi, grilled salmon, nimono vegetables, and assorted tidbits.

Tasuki, 416 Boyd St., Little Tokyo, (213) 613-0141. Lunch:Mon.-Sat., 11:30-2 p.m.

Although no bento are listed on the printed luncheon menu at Hatsuhana, all you need to do is ask.

A pre-bento salad of rice noodles and carrot shreds with sesame dressing has a definite Chinese flavor. The bento itself contains California roll (which replaces the more usual sashimi), a deep-fried salmon filet and Chinese-style rice beside a mound of crisply stir-fried bean sprouts. Spinach oshitashi was the sole nod to tradition.

Hatsuhana, 17167 Ventura Blvd. (in Plaza de Oro), Encino, (818) 789-8287. Lunch: Tues.-Fri., 12-2 p.m. BENTO TO GO

Moc Moc, a fast-food operation familiar in Japan, sells a makunouchi bento that allows you to sample a wide assortment of tastes. Its five compartment trays begin with a little egg roll, fried shumai, and a rotund gyoza (pork-filled sauteed dumpling). The grand assembly includes sundry vegetables, tempura, chicken chunks, tamago plus a compartment of soy and wine-simmered beef slices. Moc Moc is liberal with the pickles and sesame-topped rice too.

There are many simpler bento, like the grilled salmon and tempura box as well.

Moc Moc Japanese Food and Takeout Bento, 1431 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena, (213) 329-5138. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.- 8 p.m.

Bento Plus in Torrance offers an opportunity to assess the current state of Japan’s fast food without leaving L.A. And the food is--well like restaurant chain food.

Comfortingly familiar teriyaki combinations head the list. Other boxes feature grilled salmon or mackerel or deep-fried squid. The long list of accompaniments, including shumai, potato croquette, a little slice of tonkatsu, and chikuwa (cylindrical, grilled fish cake) make up a meal that’s not too mundane. The good homemade soup with vegetables is a nice touch for take-out.

Bento prices average $3.75 and you can also select from a long list of sushi and side orders. Bento Plus will deliver five orders or more in the area.

Bento Plus, 1116 Crenshaw Blvd. (at Torrance Boulevard), Torrance, (213) 212-5007. Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. FO