Forget cherry or lemon, this is the frozen treat we want.

If you’re anything like us, it’s hard enough to go even one full day without eating ramen, so skipping them for an entire season is absolutely out of the question. That presents a problem at this time of year, because summer in Japan is swelteringly humid, but ramen is usually served piping hot.

Granted, there is a type of chilled ramen called hiyashi chuka, but it’s really a very different eating experience. The broth is closer to dressing, and the overall sensation is more like a pasta salad than the hearty comfort food communion that a regular bowl of ramen is.

But coming to our rescue is Tokyo-based ramen chain Bankara with a solution that cools ramen down for the summer, but keeps the flavor we know and love with shaved ice ramen…or maybe we should call it ramen shaved ice.

The Shaved Ice Hiyashi Miso Ramen (or Kakigori Hiyashi Miso Ramen, if you’re ordering in Japanese) is based on Bankara’s popular miso ramen, with one big change: instead of a bowl of noodles and broth, you get noodles and shaved ice. This isn’t normal ice, though, because rather than freezing water, Bankara makes it by freezing its miso ramen broth!

Technically, this makes the Shaved Ice Hiyashi Miso a brothless ramen, unless you count whatever moisture the ice melts into while you’re eating. But make no mistake, this is full-fledged ramen, as in addition to the shaved miso ice and noodles, you also get such traditional toppings as chashu roast pork, bean sprouts, and menma (fermented bamboo shoots).

The Shaved Ice Hiyashi Miso joins the Bankara menu on June 15, priced at 880 yen (US$8.20), and is poised to join melon and matcha as one of our favorite shaved ice flavors this summer.

Related: Bankara location list
Source, images: Press release
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