The Mapputatsu? Parfait tackles food waste without sacrificing visuals so that you can still happily feed both yourself and your phone.
Back in January, a new style of parfait appeared at Denny’s Japan. From the front it appears as a regular parfait, but from the side, it looks like it’s been split in two–leading to its name, the Mapputatsu? Parfait (“Two equal parts? Parfait”).
▼ Pictured below are versions with Shine Muscat grapes for 1,078 yen (US$6.87) and with chocolate for 748 yen.
The purpose of this unusual setup is to reduce food waste while still providing a visually attractive, photo-worthy treat for diners. The menu even provides statistics that 54 percent of diners have ordered food for the sake of posting photos on social media and one out of three have left their dessert unfinished at family-style restaurants in Japan. With parfaits typically looking like veritable works of food art but also being on the larger side, we can assume that they’re one of the more common menu items that diners order for the visual spectacle but aren’t able to finish.
Initially, the Mapputatsu? Parfait was only available at two Denny’s Japan locations, but it’s been slowly expanding onto menus across the country. We happened to be in the area of Saitama-Shintoshin’s Cocoon City shopping complex branch recently and decided to swing by to finally try it out.
Once we sat down and peeked at the digital tablet menu, we were excited to see it in all of its question-asking glory. It was a tough choice but we ordered the Shine Muscat version.
It arrived about 10 minutes later. We took a moment to admire its striking visuals from head-on, the way the waiter had placed it down on the table in front of us.
Unsuspecting diners would never know…
…that the reverse side held a big secret: the parfait glass indeed looked like it had been split straight down the middle!
▼ Even the grapes were cleanly sliced in half.
Thankfully, that didn’t mean the glass was in any danger of collapsing, but just that the vessel was only half the width of a regular one.
We had a train to catch soon, so it was time to dig in. It was still blowing our minds that even viewed from the top it looked like a perfectly ordinary parfait.
The Shine Muscat grapes were, as usual, tantalizingly sweet and refreshing. They meshed wonderfully with the layers of sorbet and jelly lining the inside of the glass. It felt good to know that we were still getting everything that we would from a normal parfait.
The sweet treat as a whole was truly the perfect size to feel full in a comfortable–not sickly–way.
Some readers might be asking, “Why not just order a mini parfait instead?” Mini parfaits in smaller glass dishes also exist at Denny’s Japan, so that’s always a possibility. However, we have to admit that there’s something special about the thrill of having a tall parfait placed in front of you that a shorter one just can’t replace.
Please note that not all Denny’s Japan locations may offer the Mapputatsu? Parfait. Those that do may not have all the same versions, either, so it’s best to check ahead of time if there’s a specific flavor that you want. We would strongly recommend the Shine Muscat variety–in fact, it was so good that we’re now hooked on anything with the same taste!
Restaurant information
Denny’s Cocoon City branch / デニーズ コクーンシティ店
Address: Saitama-ken, Saitama-shi, Omiya-ku, Kishiki-cho 4-263-8
埼玉県さいたま市大宮区吉敷町 4-263-8
Open: 6 a.m.-11:30 p.m. (last order at 11 p.m.)
Website
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[ Read in Japanese ]