We Tried It: Do Hanai's bento boxes fit the corporate lunch criteria?

Aug 10, 2023

Hanai Vancouver, the latest and only Hawaiian restaurant on Commercial Drive to be recommended by the Michelin Guide, recently launched a new catering and events division called Let’s Kau Kau (“let’s eat” in Hawaiian). We at BCBusiness had the great fortune of trying its corporate bento boxes to see if they do what they’re meant to do: fuel professionals at events and/or offices.

To do that, the bentos should be healthy, balanced meals that taste good. They should look clean and appetizing, and be filling enough to get back to work but not so filling that we would need a cat nap to recover from lunch. Most importantly, they should be easy to eat.

With those very well-defined criteria in mind, we dug into some bentos that Hanai co-owner Miki Ellis was kind enough to drop off at the office. Here are our thoughts.

“We created Let’s Kau Kau because guests have been asking us about our catering services for a while, and we thought it was about time,” said co-owner and chef Tess Bevernage. “Our aim is to offer delicious plates and more for friends, families, and coworkers to celebrate over good food and even more amazing company.”

Well, they checked off that box for sure.