Budget-friendly bentos

Chances are, you’ve passed by the $5 Bento Box food truck while driving on Ala Moana Boulevard. That’s the business’s busiest location, according to general manager Bonnie Flemon.

“You can find $5 Bento Box trucks at 275 Kalihi St.; 1203 N. School St., in the Kapiolani Community College parking lot; and 2210 S. King St.,” she confirms. “This Ala Moana Boulevard location sells 500-1,000 bentos per day.”

Per Flemon, the food trucks were a result of community needs that arose from the start of the pandemic.

“We are originally Blue Water Shrimp & Seafood,” she explains. “A few months into 2020, we took some of the items we did for Blue Water Shrimp & Seafood, made a smaller portion and sold them for $5. We pulled a lot of our family’s recipes to create more dishes with local flavors. Our bento menu now has up to 45 different choices.

“We still have one Blue Water Shrimp & Seafood truck at Hilton Hawaiian Village,” she adds. “We closed the rest down and started selling the bentos out of each location.”

The food trucks’ menus have various categories, including beef, chicken, seafood and pork. All bentos come with rice and corn.

You can also find a few $7 and $8 combos. The $7 kalbi plate is also a crowd favorite.

“For seafood, our snapper with baked mayonnaise is popular,” Flemon says. “In the beef category, the hamburger steak and gravy is our top seller; for pork, it’s our roast pork and gravy; for chicken, it’s our shoyu chicken. Our shoyu chicken is a little different; we marinate it, then bake it. It comes out really pretty.”

Keeping the bentos at an affordable price point doesn’t result in much profit, per Flemon, but the business’s focus is on helping the community.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve helped so many locals,” she says. “We don’t make any money off the $5 bentos. What does make a profit are our smoothies and Dole Whip, so we’re able to balance things out that way.”

The truck offers desserts in the form of Dole Whip ($6) and pineapple smoothies served in large pineapples ($12). The biz is also open for catering.

“The price of food is crazy, so we decided to keep this going,” Flemon says. “We’re going to keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can.”

$5 Bento Box

1011 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu
(various locations)
Call: 808-532-5955
Web: bentoboxhi.com
Instagram: @5bentobox
How to pay: Cash and credit cards accepted
How to order: In person only