Peekture: Matcha Shiratama Zenzai

^ Matcha Shiratama Zenzai at Ichiban Boshi.

I have never really enjoyed matcha ice-cream, not even in Japan. So whenever I am at a Japanese restaurant in Singapore, unless it is part of a set meal, I don’t usually consider matcha-related options for dessert. My choices of an ice-cream dessert typically veer towards a yuzu sorbet or a goma ice-cream, because I love the slightly tart but fragrant flavour of yuzu – it is a great palate cleanser at the end of a meal, and I like the creamy and nutty flavour of black sesame.

Maybe it is one of those ‘change-in-taste-buds’ thing that hits one at a certain age.

Or maybe the folks at Tsujiri added some kind of opium in the matcha soft serve ice-cream that they sell at 100AM, because the Tsujiri experience is definitely a life-changing one for me, as far as matcha ice-cream goes.

These days, I crave for matcha ice-cream, especially if it comes with azuki and shiratama. The slight bitter edge in the matcha ice-cream, the sweetened azuki (or ‘zenzai‘) and the chewy-doughy texture of shiratama is so satisfying when the flavours come together.

I am glad that Ichiban Boshi serves quite a tasty Matcha Shiratama Zenzai, ‘cos that means I can just skip there for some comfort dessert whenever the work day gets a little rough.