If you have travelled to Hokkaido, you would have probably heard of Shiroi Koibito (‘White Lover’ in Japanese). One of the most popular souvenir snacks from the northern island, it consists of two langue de chat biscuits sandwiching a white chocolate filling.

Langue de chat, also called Cat’s Tongue, is a butter and egg white biscuit originating from France. It’s well-loved for its delicately crispy, browned edges with a soft centre. In Japan, Shiroi Koibito is possibly the most well-known langue de chat snack and souvenir export (besides Tokyo Banana, of course).

Shiroi Koibito is made by Japanese confectioner Ishiya, which announced on Facebook on January 22 this year that it’s collaborating for the first time ever with snack giant Morinaga to create a limited-edition White Lover ice cream sandwich and white chocolate drink. Ooh.

According to Ishiya’s promotional image, the ice cream sandwich comprises two butter cookies hugging a slab of white chocolate-flavoured ice cream studded with white choc chips.

When it was released in January 2021, we could only drool over photos of the ice cream sarnie online. But good news, the sandwich is now available in Singapore at Don Don Donki. It can be found in the ice cream section, and costs $4.90 each.

While the OG Shiroi Koibito is a small square, the ice cream sandwich is round and palm-sized. The original White Lover is also thin and crispy, but its ice cream cousin is, er, rather soggy, with the melty filling soaking the cold butter cookies.

We suppose it can’t be helped, but it’s surprisingly rather decent for an ice cream sandwich. The cookies are moreishly buttery, and the sweet white choc-studded ice cream is light and fluffy (it tastes more like airy whipped cream than ice cream). Get this to tide yourself through your Japan holiday withdrawal symptoms.

We didn’t see any sign of the white chocolate drink at Don Don Donki, though we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for it. According to Ishiya, you can expect a “sweet and strong drink that expresses the deliciousness of Shiroi Koibito's white chocolate”. Nice.

Shiroi Koibito ice cream sandwich is available while stocks last at Don Don Donki’s outlets. Check out our report on its latest Downtown East opening here.

Photos: Yip Jieying/ Ishiya's Facebook