JAPAN- Restaurant chain Fuji Soba has partnered with confectionary company Lotte’s Coolish to launch the innovative Coolish Hiyashi Tanuki Soba dish in Tokyo.
The new dish retails at ¥580 (US$3.85), available only at Fuji Soba’s Ikebukuro and Gotanda outlets in Tokyo.
The special item is available for a limited time, available until August 31, 2024. It will then move to the Akasaka branch in September.
The dish is also limited in availability. According to the restaurant chain, only ten servings are available every day.
The Coolish Hiyashi Tanuki Soba dish combines the traditional Japanese cold soba (buckwheat noodles) with a sweet twist.
The Japanese delicacy is one of the most versatile dishes in the world, with different variations enjoyed throughout the year. During winter hot soba provides warmth, while during summer chilled soba is considered a refreshing meal.
However, the new variation adds a sweetened variation to the cold soba variation. It incorporates ice cream into the mix of tempura flakes, sliced green onions, fried tofu and noodles.
The pouch of ice cream is mixed into the chilled soba broth to achieve this sweetened taste profile. This unique sweet and savory combination is particularly unique because of the bonito stock, which the restaurant suggests blends very well with the ice cream.
The move follows the current trend among Japanese restaurant chains, introducing new seasonal offerings as part of their promotional strategy.
In late July, McDonald’s Japan expanded its summer menu with the launch of the Banana Macaron and Watermelon Frappé items. The new offerings are also available for a limited time, between August 1 to mid-September.
In early June, McDonald’s expanded its seasonal dessert offering with the launch of three new Asian Sweets items– Salt Lychee McShake, the McFlurry Annin Mango and Banana Caramel Pie. These seasonal offerings are also available for a limited time, between August 1 to mid-September.
The Japanese market is considered diverse and dynamic. Seasonal offerings and the associated marketing campaigns are considered important opportunities for restaurants to take advantage of seasonal excitement.
The limited time encourages customers to act quickly and enjoy meals that reflect the time of the year.
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