Mos Burger’s new French toast: A delicious breakfast with a side of linguistic challenges

Taste-testing the treat with a name that’s a mouthful and a confusing condiment.

Mos Burger is a great place to go for a hamburger, as it’s right there in the fast food chain’s name, after all. But if you can get yourself out of bed and into a Mos Burger branch by 10:30 a.m., they’ve got a special breakfast menu, and our ace reporter Mr. Sato woke up nice and early to try out its newest item.

About a year ago, Mos Burger started selling sliced bread, getting in on the recent premium bread boom that’s been going on in Japan. As of March 24, though, Mos has also been using this fluffy, thick-sliced bread to make French toast, and that’s what Mr. Sato was having for breakfast.

First, though, he had to order it. That might not seem like much of a challenge, but Mr. Sato, gourmand that he is, wanted to use the full official name for the product, which is: French Toast We Made with Bread with Such a Rich Flavor that You’ll Want to Say “I Probably Don’t Need to Add Any Butter” Out Loud.

As for why the name is so long, the sliced bread that Mos sells is itself called Bread with Such a Rich Flavor that You’ll Want to Say “I Probably Don’t Need to Add Any Butter” Out Loud, in keeping with the style of sliced bread specialty bakeries in Japan having long, light novel-esque names.

▼ If you’re ordering in Japanese, the French toast is called “Bata Nante Iranai Kamo to Omowazu Koe ni Dashitakunaru Hodo Noko na Shokupan de Tsukutta Furenchi Tosuto”…or you can just point to its picture on the menu.

First off, it looks gorgeous. Mos’ French toast is a mouthwatering golden color, mottled with the perfect quantity of darker flecks where the bread was browned. From the first glance, you can tell it’s going to be moist and fluffy, and the eggy goodness on its way to his taste buds gave Mr. Sato a smile right at the start of his day.

The French toast costs 250 yen (US$2) by itself, but Mr. Sato decided to satisfy his caffeine cravings by adding a cup of coffee as part of a 410-yen drink set. He also opted for a 40-yen packet of syrup. Honestly, he couldn’t help feeling it was kind of strange that syrup isn’t included as a freebie when you order the French toast, but maybe they charge you extra for it because it’s just that good?

Not able to resist any longer, Mr. Sato sliced off a bite with the side of his fork, popped it into his mouth, and was happy, though not surprised, to find the French toast was everything he’d expected it to be: moist, soft, and delicious, with a gentle sweetness that seemed to grow and spread across his palate as he chewed.

Mr. Sato’s expectations soared higher still as he drizzled syrup down onto the French toast.

▼ So much breakfast beauty…

However, this is where he got his first surprise of the taste test. Sure, the syrup was sweet, and he guessed it sort of enhanced the eating experience, but it didn’t really have the full maple flavor he’d expected. Actually, it reminded him more of mizuame, the sticky sugar syrup you’ll find on candied apples and strawberries sold at festivals in Japan.

The confusion is cleared up, though, if you take another look at the menu, which lists the syrup as…

…”maple-style syrup,” (メープル風シロップ), as opposed to “maple syrup” (which would be メープルシロップ). And just like Mr. Sato’s taste receptors had told him, the packet lists mizuame as the first ingredient, with maple syrup third on the list.

It’s not like mizuame tastes bad or anything, but the less pronounced maple notes of the “maple-stye syrup” were just enough of a mental disconnect that Mr. Sato thinks you’re probably better off without it, since Mos’ French toast is delicious enough to stand on its own without any extra condiments. Not only will that save you 40 yen, it’ll save you the trouble of having to tack “and a packet of maple-style syrup too” onto the end of “I’d like the French Toast We Made with Bread with Such a Rich Flavor that You’ll Want to Say ‘I Probably Don’t Need to Add Any Butter’ Out Loud.”

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