Boxed lunch shop featuring chicken opens in Kagoshima: ‘Fill you up with one coin’

PUBLISHED May 17, 2021

Stamina Bento from Sutakichi

Two and a half months have passed since the opening of Sutakichi, a takeout boxed lunch shop in Taniyama-chuo, Kagoshima City.

The shop, which offers bento (boxed lunches) featuring mainly chicken dishes, opened on March 1. The owner, Takasaki Emiko, who learned how to cook while working at eateries, said: “I would like to run an izakaya eventually, but I decided to start a bento shop as a stepping stone.”

The hashtag #鶏しか勝たん (Tori shika katan) meaning “chicken is the best” in Japanese, and the shop name are painted on the window in large letters, making them eye-catching. The name of the shop, Sutakichi, is an abbreviation of Star Kitchen, and the Star is taken from the name of her eldest son.

The bento menu changes from day to day and details are posted on Instagram. Sutakichi’s daily specials include the shop’s most popular item You Lin Ji Bento with Chinese fried chicken with special sauce; Chicken Nanban Bento with marinated fried chicken dressed with vinegar and tartar sauce; Tenshinhan prepared with chicken rice that goes well with starchy sauce; Cheese Dak Galbi Bento; and Stamina Bento. Japanese fried chicken bento is always available. All the packed lunches are priced at 500 yen, and only 40 are sold per day. “As I prepare all the bento by myself, I close the shop for the day once they are sold out,” said Takasaki.

In addition to bento boxes, she offers hors d’oeuvres platters (3,000 yen to 4,000 yen) with fried chicken and egg rolls, as well as single items such as seared chicken liver (400 yen) and chicken sashimi yukhoe (500 yen).

“I hope that many people will try my bento, which can fill you up with just one 500-yen coin. My goal is to make everyone smile with my delicious food,” she added.

Opening hours: 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (or until sold out). Closed on Sundays and holidays.

  • Exterior of Sutakichi

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