Oooooh... pretty. Me likey.

Actually, I have a tiffin set and the one thing I dislike about it is that I can't reheat food -microwave @ work- without removing it from the metal containers. Not a huge ordeal, but the ceramic bowls (while breakable!) seem like a wonderful solution.

Sorry, I would feel like an asshole carrying this around. Just my opinion.

Very elegant -- I like, but I'm not likely to carry it on the NYC subway in rush hour!

very neat design, would be great for picnics.

@clampers - what a strange reaction. sounds like you care a great deal about what others think of you.

The aesthetic appeal is wonderful - I love the design. However, not incredibly practical for lunch or picnics. I would rather have something that I can reheat in the microwave for lunch and for picnics, it's usually our family so I would need to pack more than that. But it is lovely.

Obviously I care what others think of me, that's human nature.

This looks nice, but must be very heavy when full.

i was thinking it looks like it would be heavy too. and a bit unweildy for a commute, as you may have other things in your hands (or need them to push turnstiles or jostle for the subway pole). but it is very lovely!

i wonder how tight is the seal? would you be able to put soup or saucy stuff in them without wearing it?

Really lovely.

Inspiration is its strongest point. It might get a non-packer in the habit of packing lunch; it is beautiful and non-plastic, but it is also impractical in many scenarios.

On days that I need mobile food, I tend to need both hands in action (as cgrups says, it would sure be difficult on subways); it is only so-so cyclist-friendly; and generally, I don't see what's wrong with mason jars (which can also be microwaved) and a backpack (padded by a bit of cloth, if necessary). This method has the bonus of not costing extra, being multi-functional and easily recyclable, and not adding another gadget into one's home.

Does a solution need to be store-bought and click-together to count?

Yeah, it's very pretty but can anyone honestly imagine carrying this into an average workplace? I'd feel like I was being hoity-toity. And is it really more sustainable to buy an additional product to carry your lunch in when you've already got a something to bring your lunch in? Also, it looks like it wouldn't seal well which would make me nervous about taking any sharp turns if it was sitting in the car seat next me. Let's be practical here. Plastic containers are popular because they're really durable, you can drop one full of soup and be fine, and if you're buying the durable ones they last for many years. I think the product above would be great for bring food out to the patio, a family potluck or things like that but it just seems really impractical for work.

I guess I'm ok with wrapping wax paper around a sandwich and throwing that in a bag with an apple, banana, box of raisins and putting all of that into a brown paper bag that has been reused until leaks/tears and then recycled. I don't really need to take soup and multicourse meals. A packed lunch is basic in my world and will probably stay that way.
This is beautiful but seems like a very precious person with a specific lifestyle could make practical use of it.

Hi, I'm from Malaysia, so I grew up with neighbors having one of those things. It's good for things like rice, dry curries (rendang), pickles and cucumbers etc which you have to put on banana leaves or lined with wax paper. Some are made with wood, some ceramic.

It IS NOT good for commuting - picnics I can see working. I still find the old school stainless tiffin carriers the best thing for food storage.

I have a stainless steel tiffin that I picked up at World Market for $10. It's fantastic for commuting. Now, that thing has gotten bumped and jostled like crazy on the bus and subway, and it's got a couple of little dings, but it's metal, and it was $10, so it's not a big deal. $40 of ceramic, on the other hand, I think would ask for some cushioning if you were to have it on the bus/subway/what have you, which would detract from the prettiness value. That is, unless you LIKE cleaning up food and shards of ceramic from the floors of public transit vehicles. But yes, this would be lovely for a picnic, or even just for a nice little snacking session on your patio.

laurabellk pretty much nailed my reaction.

When I moved to England way back in 1981, we still carried actual baskets to the grocery store/fish monger/butcher/greengrocer, etc. It felt like Little Red Riding Hood but it was the way it was done. (Do they still do it?)

I think we could all start a fab style of carrying lovely re-usable lunch things and then no one will feel conspicuous. I love tiffin sets although I carry my own lunch in a random cotton tote bag.

I have my grandmother's split oak market basket from early 1900s, but I do NOT carry it. It's been retired from active service. For years my family stored its sporting equipment in it!

Oh wow. It's been more than a decade since I saw one.

Growing up in Indonesia, that's what we put our food in-instead of plastic containers, we put them there to deliver them somewhere. But I believe ours were made from steel or tin, not exactly wood-based.

Yeah, it'll be good for picnic. :) My bro is working there now and he has his lunch delivered via rantangan, very convenient for him.

Love the look of it, disagree w/the practicality. For most commuters, 'practical' and 'portable' mean you can throw them into a big bag full of the other stuff you have to carry with you every day. If you use the sealable plastic containers (Tupperware, Ziploc, etc.) you can toss them in with other stuff.

Carrying this thing, as cute as it is, means one hand dedicated to carrying your lunch. Not efficient :-/

Before reading the article through, I recognized the name already. A person who called Jenggala was a part of old history in Java and Bali.

I recalled I had a rantang when I was in indonesia. It was made from stainless steel.

I like the Mason jar idea. You could knit, sew, or felt cozies if you needed to pretty things up. But y lunch is not a hot lunch. I'm a sandwich/apple/water bottle kind of luncher. I feel like that a big warm lunch is just too much to eat and more importantly, takes too much time. Many of us live in a reality where lunch is a thirty minute or less period of time. Hot food would take too long, and it would be hard to (write in) chart while doing so!

bulky

Laurinalameda, the cozy idea is awesome. : )

In winter tend toward hot lunches when I have leftover dinner. Or in a rush, I bring a raw potato to microwave. LOL.

But I think many people's comments express the clear winner, in terms of ease/potability/weight-efficiency: a sandwich.

One can just keep sandwich-making ingredients at work/school, too, if there's a fridge, or even a cupboard.

PB&Js!

Never thought I'd see a rantang featured here!
This is surely a twist from the original rantang commonly used in Indonesia which made from stainless steel or plastic - very durable and portable.
Yet this much prettier version is impractical, not suitable for a daily lunch box.

I personally wouldn't feel like someone was hoity-toity carrying this (especially since the shape is so pleasantly unadorned); I'd be interested to know more about it and happy to see someone took the time to bring their own meal to work in something so beautiful. There's something admirable to bringing beauty into the realm of the mundane!

Laurinalameda and charlita, I don't quite see how a hot lunch is either precious or takes a lot of time. Microwaved leftover chili or stew in one of those spill-proof thingies and is cheap and basic, and I never have more than half and hour for lunch. Multi-course lunches don't work, sure, but there's nothing particularly time-consuming about eating hot food, at least for me.

I have to agree with randomcanadian. When I cook meals at night, I prepare enough for my family and then leftovers for our lunches the next day. So I always have a lovely, hot (microwaveable) meal the next day. Perhaps some don't have a microwave or fridge available to them at their job, but I do and find it quite nice to enjoy my leftovers from last night.

I've been looking for an alternative for all of my plastic Tupperwares and I LOVE the Mason jar idea. I might give that a shot.

@ Charlotte - Wicker baskets are making a bit of a comeback here in the UK - the increase in saying no to plastic bags means that Jute and cotton bags are more visible on the high st, and pretty pictures from Cath Kidston catalogues and the like are making the old fashioned baskets more popular... Also some of the newer bikes for sale seem to have baskets that can be attched to the front, and taken off to carry round the shops - very retro!

Just for the record, carrying even a tiffin or a regular bento box can be seen as pretentious or interesting or unusual, based on the cafeteria you are in. I regularly use a rotation of my bento box, my tiffin, and my Mr. Bento, and frequently get comments.

Something like this, though... I think I'd reserve it for a breezy summer picnic with friends. It seems like the sort of thing I'd carry just out to a friendly backyard for a relaxing day, but maybe that's just the feeling that wood and ceramic evoke in me.

I love it! I just gave up my beloved tiffin and was going to buy a new one..but will look into this as an option. I love to celebrate food everyday and presentation and the way I carry it is always a treat for me..to be honest if I walked around with a rantang it is highly unlikely that anyone who knows me would bat an eye..it would be rather silly to form an opinion on someone for their lunchbox if they did!

saer
http://cravenmaven.wordpress.com

Hoity-toity? Pretentious? It's a LUNCH BOX. Dog forbid it be 'unusual' or 'interesting'. If you're worried about the image that your lunch box gives you, you've got more problems than a lunch box can solve.

I looove this and it's actually less expensive than a Zojirushi Bento jar. I don't really like sandwiches and in my culture we don't really eat them. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day for me, so a sandwich won't cut it. This would be great but my only concern would be how heavy it is empty. I know ceramics can get pretty heavy.