Is Ice Cream Ramen The Next Cronut? Where To Buy Frozen Dessert

Summer may be over but the newest food craze may have you ditching your favorite fall treat for a frozen dessert. Ice Cream ramen is a trendy new dish that will have you confused and intrigued all at the same time.

The tasty dessert is a bit deceptive as it is not actually ice cream nor does it consist of ramen noodles. The “ice cream” in the dish is crushed ice topped with evaporated milk and the noodles are Kanten or agar noodles, a traditional Japanese noodle made from algae.

Agar is a traditional ingredient that is used in several Asian desserts that give the dish its jelly texture. The semi-opaque blue noodles are served over a bowl of mango, mochi, cantaloupe, "ice cream" and a side of white peach syrup.

Candice Auyeung, who owns the establishment that serves the ramen ice cream, recently explained the creation process of the dish to the “Today” show. “We cook the agar powder with water and sugar, and it comes together very fast,” she said. “It’s like pasta. It comes out as a sheet, and we cut it by hand.”

This isn't the first dessert that has gone viral. Back in 2013 Dominique Ansel introduced the Cronut. The croissant-doughnut hybrid is made with a laminated dough similar to that of a croissant. It is fried and then flavored by either being filled with cream, topped with a glaze or rolled in sugar.

Shortly after the Cronut craze came a Japanese spin on an American classic, known as the ramen burger. The dish that brought lines of people to Brooklyn, New York in 2013 consists of a hamburger patty placed in between two discs of compressed ramen noodles rather than the traditional bread bun.

Ramen ice cream is currently being served at The Dessert Kitchen in New York City. The restaurant also serves other unique dishes like scented tea flavored jelly, Taiwan style shaved ice, coffee pudding, dumplings in ginger sugar soup and more.