Shirley Wong, aka, Little Miss Bento, has gained a massive following online thanks to her Japanese bento lunchbox creations and unique deco sushi rolls. An award-winning bento artist (yep, that’s a thing) as well as a top celebrity food artist in Singapore, Wong is the first Singaporean to be certified under the Japan Sushi Instructor Association in Tokyo.
According to Wong, she finds inspiration for her food creations in everyday life. “I tell people that inspiration is not from one source, but it is from multiple sources,” she relayed in an interview with the Epoch Times. “I could be inspired by pop culture, popular culture, or whatever that is trendy now.”
Indeed, pop culture references, as well as Japanese characters appear throughout her work, making her bento boxes both appealing and undeniably cute! Each of her pieces begins with a sketch. “I will usually draw first, after which I will come up with the design and figure out what box I would be using, and the ingredients which I need,” explained Wong. “This usually happens the night before, or sometimes a few nights before. I can also have the design hanging out for a week before I start making it.”
“I usually make the lunchboxes in the morning,” she further relayed. “I don’t usually wake up in the morning and start thinking what I am going to do. I prepare myself so that I will know what I am going to do the next day. That’s the process: sketch, design, plan, get ready my ingredients, cook, pack, and take photos.”
