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How to make an epic pizza at a Japanese family restaurant

Oona McGee Apr 13, 2024
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Eating on the cheap doesn’t have to be boring.

Japanese family restaurants are great places to eat on a budget, and one of the chains that’s most friendly on the wallet, according to our reporter Takamichi Furusawa, is Gusto.

This is where you can order a full Mayonnaise and Corn Pizza (mayo and corn is one of the most popular pizza toppings in Japan) for just 500 yen (US$3.26), which is an absolute bargain. However, he’s recently been dreaming of building upon the pizza by adding extra toppings to create an epic version, so this week he decided to make those dreams a reality.

▼ Takamichi, determined to create an epic mayo corn pizza at Gusto.

The first thing he did after arriving at his local branch was order the Mayonnaise and Corn Pizza, which measures 24 centimetres (9.5 inches) across.

Next, he moved on to the options screen on the tablet, where he added “Plenty of Double Pizza Cheese”, which he figured would double the amount of cheese on the pizza.

Then, he proceeded to the toppings selection screen, which had a lineup of 11 items, covering things like mini hamburg patties and spring rolls, with prices ranging from 50 to 200 yen.

Takamichi felt like a kid in a candy shop as he tapped on all the options with carefree abandon.

A regular pizza from a pizza chain can cost around 3,000 yen, so Takamichi was suitably impressed when, after adding all the toppings, his pizza meal came to a total of…

▼ …2,150 yen!

This was great value for money, and after about 10 minutes of waiting, when Takamichi’s feast arrived, his face said it all.

With 11 toppings in front of him like side dishes to a main meal, Takamichi was in pizza heaven.

He’d never seen so many plates on a table at Gusto before, and he began to wonder if they would fit on his pizza.

The lineup was quite rich, with a lot of fried foods, and Takamichi wasn’t quite sure how best to arrange them on the pizza. He decided to start with some of the biggest items first, dropping the mini hamburg patty in the middle.

The meat patty looked most delicious, and given its circular shape, he was able to prop some other items against it, proceeding in a radial pattern.

▼ Fried fish, fried chicken and fried prawns took up most of the space…

▼ …leaving him with gaps in which to slot the sausages and spring roll, before placing the fried egg on top of the meat patty.

The final step was to give everything a good sprinkling of powdered cheese, and then his masterpiece was complete!

He was honestly surprised by how good it looked, and now it was time to taste it.

The only drawback to a pizza with this many toppings is the effort required to slice through it, but Takamichi galiantly persevered, slicing his way through the fried chicken, croquettes and meat cutlets.

One of his favourite moments came when he cut through the fried egg and the melty yolk ran out over the other ingredients.

Eventually, he was able to tear out a slice, and when he did, a long strand of melted cheese appeared, enticing him to take a big bite of everything.

As he chewed his way through the pizza, the cheese melded with the crispy dough and fried toppings, creating a supremely delicious flavour that made his face light up with childlike glee.

It tasted way better than he’d expected, and though it was incredibly rich, all the ingredients complemented each other in harmonious unison. The cheese and fried egg were standout ingredients, but Takamichi says the best topping of all was the croquettes, as the soft potato filling was the perfect partner for the corn and mayonnaise.

This make-it-yourself pizza was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds, and though it was incredibly filling, the wide variety of ingredients made it very easy to eat. It’s a meal you’ll want to have when you’re hungry, so why not give it a try next time you’re visiting Gusto? It makes a nice change to the meals you get at rival chain Saizeriya!

Related: Gusto
Photos © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]