ZojirushiSL-MEE07AB Ms.Bento Stainless Lunch Jar, Aqua Blue

At first I thought my appetite was too large for this lunch jar thermos, but after the first day I was sold! I put steamed rice straight from the rice cooker into the larger bottom container and beef and veggies on the top. The key is to “prep” the jar by pouring boiling water into the thermos for 5min or so, removing the water, and quickly placing the containers back in. I normally prepare my food around 530am and eat around noon. My food is still hot. Not piping hot, but not lukewarm either. I’m satisfied with this and would recommend it for other working professionals who pack their lunch.

I use mine for kimchi and rice. The top has a gasket lid that doesn’t stick on so securely but, the top compartment screw onto the lid and that seems to keep it all together. The rice bowl is a good size for a small lunch.The bag is handy too for snacks.

Audience/Usage: For 7 yrs old's school lunch. My chick confirmed the food remained hot for lunch. (Make sure you follow the pre-heat instructions) Food portion is just perfect for elementary kids. The 2 compartments design is nice. I put the main entree in the HOT bottom compartment and fruits/cookies in the ROOM temperature top compartment. It comes with a pair of chopsticks, but I wish they will give me a fork instead. :)Watch out 1: It can be bulky but it still fits in her existing thermos school bag nicely. (it comes with it's own bag, but we didn't use it yet)Watch out 2: I would not recommend giving this to kids younger than 7. The bento has 3 lids and require some assembling skills. (I tried it on my 5 yrs old and it was too complex. Her little hand was not able to twist one of the lid).

Keep in mind that this was made for an Asian diet with a smaller portion size. It might be perfect for anyone looking to portion control their meals. How I keep my meals warm is by boiling water and pouring it into the canister (with great care) and let sit for five minutes or as long as you feel necessary. Once ready, dump out the hot water and dry completely. The inside will be hot so be careful. I do wrap the meal container with plastic wrap after warming up my lunch prior to putting it into the main container. My food is still warm 8 hours later with no spoilage so far. I don’t use the top portion of this for anything that needs to keep warm because it doesn’t (tried already). I do wrap the canister with a clean kitchen/dish towel before putting it into the tote bag to help keep in the heat as long as possible. So far I am happy with how I go about keeping my meals warm for me to enjoy. Oh! This particular set is not made for soups and the like. It will spill. Get the bigger set that has a separate container for soups.

Outside is beautiful and high quality. Inside pieces look okay and cheap. Keeps food at temp nicely.

I prepared my lunch and forgot to take it with me. I left it at the kitchen counter at room temperature for the entire day. When I came home from work, that was 10 hours already, the food inside still warm. I ate it without heating up. The bowls are microwavable. Both the bowls are NOT leakproof. They leak. No liquid. The top bowl does not keep food warm at all, it will remain room temperature. The bottom one keeps food hot for about 6 hours and warm for at least 10 hours. The sizes of the bowls are considered small if you are a big eater. The bottom bowl can fill a BIG MAC, about that big. Very easy to clean even with oily food inside. The bag is much bigger than the lunch jar. I have a 12 oz Zojirushi water bottle and it fits inside the bag together with the lunch jar. The bag can fit a water bottle no more than around 7 in. tall. I am a small eater (still overweight, don't know why) and the setting fits me well.

I have had Zojirushi mugs for a while and love them. Expected the same quality that goes with the mugs. Not the case with the lunch jar. Best to avoid it and look elsewhere for a hot lunch.

So firstly I want to say that the only reason that I bought this was that my daughter lost a part of my original bento box. I loved it so much so I had to get the exact same one. The old one I had is older than my 10 year old daughter so you can see why I do think that this bento box is worth the money. There are 2 containers in the thermos casing. Only the top one is completely leakproof as it has the rubber seal. The food stays warm enough for my daughter to have her lunch at noon in school and the containers are a good size to be able to put a good amount of food in each. Overall a great purchase and definitely worth the money!