Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2014

If it looks like toast, it’s toast… except when it isn’t. Case in point: Mini Stop’s latest offering, tsukimiyaki (¥198). It looks like your average croque-monsieur, but is actual fact made with two layers of okonomiyaki pancake with a fried egg on top. Easy to carry in one hand, it makes one of Osaka’s most delicious treats portable and (almost) mess-free when eating. Thinly sliced sausage, cabbage and yamaimo (mountain yam) toppings blend with a soy-sauce-and-katsuo-style dashi for a satisfying experience. There are plans for a different flavor in June, but rather than mulling over what that will be, ask the more pressing question: Why didn’t they think of this sooner?