The results of the Bento&co contest are in, and the winning entry is this beautiful bento from Shirley from Singapore.

It was in my top 10 too. The colors, the execution, and the content is impeccable. You can check out the rest of the top 10 as chosen by a group of judges (including myself) here.

Since there were more than 220 entries and most of them were of very high quality, a few of my favorites did not make the top 10. Here are some of them. I liked this one by Lydia from Austria a lot because of the coconut-curry flavored onigiri, the neat little cherry tomato roses, and because it looks so tasty and healthy.

I love the butterfly onigiri in this bento by Mandy from England. The colors are quite muted but it still looks delicious and very healthy too.

This bento by Cyntia from France also has muted colors.It just goes to show that you don't always need bright reds and yellows to make a bento look pretty. I also like the neat little rows of food. There were a few bentos with straight rows of food like this - maybe it's a trend? The detail is fantastic - check out the mischievous radish boy in the corner.

There were a number of panda themed bentos entered. This one by Marie from Hungry was my favorite. Look at those cute baby pandas!

Last but not least is this simple little bento by Motoko from Japan. It's very plain compared to the more showy entries, but it looks delicious and makes me feel terribly nostalgic.

Congratulations to Shirley and all the winners, and kudos for the staff at Bento&co for pulling off yet another big bento contest. Above all, to everyone who entered the contest and allowed us to enjoy your work - thank you! I'm already looking forward to next year's contest.

ETA: Bento&co made this great infographic about the contest. Check it out!