The sticky rice balls I can handle. I could even get into the slightly gelatinous, traditional mitarashi topping that gets its brown from, uh, soy sauce. But I draw the line at nori. Yes, those suspicious-looking little black things on top are KILL ME NOW strips of the same kind of seaweed that holds your tuna roll together. AndContinueContinue reading “Please Tell Me That’s Not Seaweed On My Ice Cream”
Tag Archives: Japanese ice cream
Twice The Guilt, Half The Pleasure
What’s wrong with this picture? Okay, I totally get that some days it’s hard to choose between a bucket of french fries and a bathtub of ice cream. I even understand that some days you just say FML, I’m having BOTH. But this? No. Just…no. •
Chocolate, Strawberry and…Bean Powder?
Okay, buckaroos, it’s time to play Guess That Flavor with these cones of soft-serve goodness I spotted recently in Asakusa! Our first contestants are the lovely blue ice cream on the left, and the tasty-looking coffee-colored one on the right. (Wily contestants will recognize that’s a hint it definitely doesn’t taste like a cup o’ Joe!) Next up, that delightfully vanilla-ish-lookingContinueContinue reading “Chocolate, Strawberry and…Bean Powder?”
Veggie Ice Cream?!
From the land of snacks with tentacles and fish bone crackers comes the latest healthy food disguised as a snack: carrot and tomato ice cream! Haagen-Dazs Japan hit the subways with a “secret” poster campaign this month, introducing the latest way for even the most dedicated junk food addict to get some stealth vegetables. The carrot one is mixed withContinueContinue reading “Veggie Ice Cream?!”
World’s Worst Popsicle
If spaghetti-flavored ice on a stick isn’t the world’s worst idea for a snack, I don’t know what is. But, in an act of supreme self-sacrifice, I tried it, so you don’t have to! Supposedly, the “Napolitan Rich” Gari-Gari contains pockets of tomato jelly, but I was unable to detect them in the short time the instantly-regretted biteContinueContinue reading “World’s Worst Popsicle”
So, What DO Cherry Blossoms Taste Like?
Around cherry blossom season in Japan, the shelves suddenly fill with “sakura”-flavored food. But what does cherry blossom-flavored food actually taste like? I investigate. Cherry blossoms taste like…mini-shrimp potato chips. Cherry blossoms taste like…plum-flavored whisky & soda. Cherry blossoms taste like…pinkish berry combo gel and vanilla ice cream. Cherry blossoms taste like…potato chips sprinkled with groundContinueContinue reading “So, What DO Cherry Blossoms Taste Like?”
Cherry Blossom Flavored Ice Cream
Naturally, it being the Pink Season, all things must be as one with the almighty sakura. Including…ice cream. And what does this marvel of food engineering taste like? Hmm, good question. Fortunately, they did not try to reproduce the taste of traditional Japanese sakura sweets, which are sweet rice cakes jarringly wrapped in salty pickled cherry leaves. Usually I’mContinueContinue reading “Cherry Blossom Flavored Ice Cream”
Streets Paved with Gyoza
Inside Namco Namja Town in Ikebukuro is a crooked little street lined with stands featuring the best potsticker dumplings from all over Japan. It looks like an old shitamachi lane, and the choices are dizzying. Regional specialties served with a squeeze of sudachi lime or mixed with shiso leaves are joined by more, hmm, experimentalContinueContinue reading “Streets Paved with Gyoza”
Only In Japan 