Ice Cream Shop From Japan Sells Okinawan Brown Sugar Pearl Soft-Serve & Gravity-Defying Cones

What and who is Emma, you ask? Well, it’s a highly instagrammable soft-serve ice cream and specialty bubble tea store (which also sells crepes!) from Ashikaga, Japan. It only opened last May but already has five outlets in its home country. Its Singapore location, which opens on July 2 in Plaza Singapura, is the first outside of Japan. There will also be a second store at 100AM Mall, opening on July 28.

Its feminine name was inspired by Japanese wooden plaques at places of worship such as shrines, known as 絵馬 (‘ema’). It’s supposed to symbolise a place where people’s wishes come true. Yeah, go on and dream all your ice cream and bubble tea dreams and make them a reality.

The brand has risen in popularity in Japan partly due to its minimalistic chic shop interiors used as a simple yet elegant backdrop for the pretty ice cream creations in the posts dotting their Instagram feed. However, Emma’s franchise shop here at Basement 2 of Plaza Singapura (pictured) is a less stylo-mylo takeaway kiosk.

But what the brand is most famous for is its “firm soft-serve” that can be held upside down without plopping to the ground. The ice cream is made with Japanese ingredients like Meiji fresh milk to create its rich, thick texture. It comes in Milk, Charcoal Cheese and Mix (half Charcoal Cheese and half Milk) flavours.

An exclusive-to-Singapore item. Emma’s signature soft serve in the new Charcoal Cheese flavour topped with Okinawan Brown Sugar Boba (that’s pearls to you and me), encased within a taco-shaped wafer cone made in-store.

If you’re a purist and find the whole brown-sugar-pearls-and-wafer-shell combo too much, the Charcoal Cheese Soft Serve comes in charcoal cones imported from Japan. Check out this stark black-on-black number.

The Milk-flavoured soft serves can also be dipped in sauces of your choice which stiffen to form crackly shells. Pick from Valrhona Chocolate, Matcha with Kagoshima matcha powder, Strawberry or Caramel. Each goes for about $5.60 a pop in Japan, so $5.30 is somewhat reasonable.

There’s also a neat cup version of the soft serve with Japanese-style toppings — from Okinawa Brown Sugar pearls and Kinako (soybean) powder to a simpler Brown Sugar pearls edition and Brown Sugar Matcha (above left and right respectively). The prices of these aren’t confirmed yet, however it shouldn’t be too different from its Japan price tags of 550 ¥ ($6.90).

For now, Emma in Singapore isn’t offering its drinks like jasmine, assam, tie guan yin and roasted green teas topped with tapioca pearls. But a soft serve float may arrive on our shores soon. Pictured above: Green Tea and Brown Sugar Tapioca Latte.

Their savoury and sweet crepe options, including Mont Blanc and Shrimp with Avocado will not be available in Singapore for now either. Meanwhile, whip out those phones and start snapping pics, people.

Emma opens on July 2 at #B2-45 Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Rd, S238839, and July 28 at #02-10 100 AM mall, 100 Tras St S079027.

Photos: @emma_tapioca, @emmasoftsg, @watarunva, @37___222, @rino_kobori, Instagram