And yes, the Cookie Monster shaved ice includes a cookie!
“Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?” asks the theme song of the beloved children’s show, and yeah, sure we can. You just take the train to Ikebukuro in downtown Tokyo, and from there walk to the Sunshine City shopping center. Sesame Street is on the first floor.
That’s how you get to Sesame Street Market, anyway, Tokyo’s permanent Sesame Street cafe and specialty shop. Being open all year round means the cafe can offer special seasons treats, and with summer here that means shaved ice, in the form of clever desserts based on iconic Sesame Street characters.
The first four joined the menu on June 27, starting with the Elmo Ice (Strawberry & Milk).
Each shaved ice features facial features made out of chocolate, plus other tempting toppings, like the sliced strawberries for Elmo.
Naturally the Cookie Monster Ice (Melon & Milk) has a chocolate chip cookie, plus whipped cream to add extra richness and sliced melon inside the mound of ice.
The grouchy green Oscar Ice (Matcha Tiramisu) is drizzled with both green tea syrup made using Uji matcha and tiramisu sauce, with an extra sprinkling of matcha powder. A little bitterness seems perfectly appropriate for the routinely crabby Oscar, but he’s got some sweetness inside too, where you’ll find chocolate an sweet bean jam.
Rounding out the first batch is the Big Bird Ice (Manco & Cream), but there are two more Sesame Street shaved ice desserts coming later in the summer. : the bold Abby Ice (Peach & Cheese), with Nagano-grown peaches, cream cheese, camembert cheese, and oiri (round rice puff candies) on July 18…
…and The Count Ice (Grape and Cream), with whole Nagano-grown grapes and chocolate cookie crumbles, on August 8.
We’ve mentioned Nagano a few times, and in fact even the water used to make the ice is sourced from Nagano, since the prefecture is known for having some of the purest, most delicious water in Japan. those gourmet ingredients do mean that the Sesame Street shaved ices cost 1,980 yen (US$12.40), but they also look big enough to possibly share.
The Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird shaved ices will all be sticking around for the whole summer, until September 1, while Oscar is available until July 17, Abby August 7, and The Count September 1.
Cafe information
Sesam Street Market / セサミストリートマーケット
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 3-1-1, Sunshine City Alpa section 1st floor
京都豊島区東池袋３丁目１−１ サンシャインシティ 専門店街アルパ 1F
Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Website
Source, images: PR Times
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