Do you have a favorite sushi topping? Well, raw fish may not be for everyone, but like most people in Japan, I absolutely love sushi, from simple tuna to more lavish creations using unusual ingredients. In fact, some of the best tasting “sushi” I’ve ever had has been of the unorthodox variety, like “grilled foie gras sushi” and “minced tuna and green onion sushi roll tempura” (yes, they actually deep-fried a sushi roll whole)! But now, a story on the Byokan Sunday site has brought to our attention an even more unbelievable sushi dish, and it’s pictured right on the menu above — can you guess what kind of sushi it is?
Ladies and gentlemen, sushi chain restaurant Uokura brings to you the “ice cream sushi roll”. Yes, it’s ice cream on rice in a gunkan-roll shape (where nori seaweed is wrapped all around the side of the rice to form a shape like a battleship, or gunkan) and it even comes in two flavors, vanilla and green tea (matcha).
▼There it is on the menu: Vanilla and Matcha Ice Cream Sushi!
Granted, some revolving sushi restaurants (kaiten-zushi) do offer regular desserts like ice cream or fruits along with sushi on their revolving conveyor belts, but we have to say that serving ice cream as a sushi topping on a gunkan-roll is a completely unexpected and original idea. Even the guys over at Byokan Sunday were at a loss as to whether this ice cream sushi should be considered a dessert or a sushi dish. In fact, when they first came across pictures of this unique sushi on the Internet, they seriously wondered if it may be fake, a joke by someone with Photoshop skills.
Well, it turns out the ice cream sushi really exists, as the menu from Uokura proves. And judging from the appearance of the menu, it looks like Uokura considers the ice cream sushi just one of their sushi selections, and not a dessert per se. Customers who want to be a bit daring in their choice of sushi can try two pieces of this creamy sweet sushi for 160 yen (US$1.60). There seem to be other interesting items on the menu as well, like sushi with carpaccio-style prosciutto, grilled beef, fried shrimp and grilled salmon with cheese. All of this sounds quite tempting, but Uokura has shops only in the Kyushu area of Southern Japan. Well, I guess I’ll just have to find some other fun sushi creation to satisfy the craving I now have after looking at all of that sushi.
Source: Byokan Sunday (Japanese)
All Photos: Uokura