Fuji Soba and Coolish enter into an unexpected alliance in Tokyo.

Soba (buckwheat) noodles are a year-round food. In the middle of winter, a bowl of soba in piping hot broth will warm you up from the inside, and in warmer parts of the year, chilled soba is a great way to fill yourself up and cool yourself down all at once.

Cold soba is usually served dry, with a cup of broth on the side to dip the noodles into before each bite. Right now though, soba restaurant chain Fuji Soba has another way to enjoy cold noodles: ice cream soba.

▼ Yep, that’s a swirl of ice cream atop the soba noodles, accompanied by tempura flakes, fried tofu, and sliced green onion.

The Coolish Hiyashi Tanuki Soba, as the unique meal is called, is a collaboration between Fuji Soba and confectioner Lotte. Lotte offers a full range of sweet treats, but one of their biggest sellers of all is Coolish, a brand of ice cram that’s sold in pouches to directly drink the cream from.

Though the Coolish comes on the side in the 580-yen (US$3.85) set, it’s not meant as a chaser. Fuji Soba says to mix it with the chilled soba broth that’s already in the bowl so that the sweet and savory flavors intertwine. And while the add-it-yourself style means you can use as much or as little ice cream as you want, Fuji Soba recommends squirting the whole pouchful in there.

▼ It’s worth mentioning that soba broth generally contains bonito stock, so yes, this will be a blend of ice cream and fish.

It’s definitely a time-efficient way to satisfy cravings for soba and sweets all in one fell swoop, but the boldness of the concept means that the Coolish Hiyashi Tanuki Soba is a limited-time, limited-quantity, and even limited-location offering. Only 10 servings are offered per day, and it’s currently exclusive to Fuji Soba’s Ikebukuro and Gotanda branches in Tokyo, who’ll be serving it until August 31, after which another Tokyo Fuji Soba branch, Akasaka, will be offering it from September 1 to 30.

Related: Fuji Soba location list
Source: Fuji Soba via Hachima Kiko
Images: PR Times
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!