Onsen Egg Bukkake Udon Ice Cream makes us rethink everything we thought we knew about sweets

This noodle dessert makes our brains malfunction.

When it comes to Kagawa , udon is king .

Not only is the climate ideal for growing wheat – udon is a wheat noodle – but locals in Kagawa eat more udon per person than anywhere else in Japan, leading it to be dubbed Japan’s “ Udon Prefecture ”, a moniker that Kagawa proudly stands by.

We were reminded of just how strong the links are between noodles and the prefecture when, on a recent trip to the area, we spotted a sign outside a beautiful old shop along the approach to Kompirasan, one of the region’s most famous shrines. ▼ The sign, posted at the Konpira Udon Sando Store , read: “Onsen Egg Bukkake Udon-style Soft Serve”.

Having travelled to different parts of Japan, we knew that turning local specialties into ice cream has become something of a thing in recent years, but we were surprised to see udon being used this way.

Making it even more unusual was the fact that the ice cream was based on onsen egg bukkake udon , one of our favourite noodle dishes.

As fans of the dish, we were curious to find out how well the ice cream could replicate its look and flavour , so we decided to step into the shop and order a real onsen egg bukkake udon and the soft serve to see how they would compare. ▼ Onsen Egg Bukkake Udon at 730 yen (US$4.90) on the left, Onsen Egg Bukkake Udon-style Soft Serve (580 yen) on the right.

It only took about five minutes for both dishes to arrive, and when they did, we were charmed by how the shape and size of the bowls were almost identical. ▼ What wasn’t identical, though, was what was inside them.

There, on the right, was a bowl of white goodness that had a noodly look to it, and on top, a slice of lemon and the onsen egg, two ingredients you would usually find in a bowl of Onsen Egg Bukkake Udon. ▼ Look closely and you’ll see a splash (“bukkake” means “splash”) of sauce resembling soy sauce-based dashi within the “noodles”.

The presentation was so convincing in person that we momentarily forgot this was ice cream until we saw the dessert spoon there in place of chopsticks.

Resisting the urge to gobble it down right away, we stopped to try the actual noodles on the left hand side of the tray. ▼ Absolutely delicious.

Kagawa udon truly is something else – the noodles had a wonderfully firm and slippery texture, and the balance of the dashi was perfect.

After gently breaking the onsen egg apart and mixing it through the noodles, the flavour became smoother and richer, with the oil from the tempura crumbs and aroma of green onions adding just the right amount of texture and freshness to the dish. ▼ Time to try the Onsen Egg Bukkake Udon-style Soft Serve.