From ramen to robatayaki, Singaporeans just cannot seem to get enough of Japanese food.

They are also lapping up Japanese ice cream, and more than 20 scoop outlets have sprung up in the last two years to satisfy this appetite for a sweet treat that is not too cloyingly rich in taste.

Marvelous Cream in CityLink Mall, which opened earlier this month, is the latest to join the fray.

It offers parfait and cold stone ice cream, where a smorgasbord of 28 items such as coffee-flavoured jelly, raspberry macaron, fluffy sponge cake and millefeuille are mixed into the ice cream on a frosted marble slab before being served.

The shop is the first overseas outlet of the trendy Japanese ice cream chain that was started in 2006 in Osaka by patissier Keita Ito, who is trained in French-style pastries.

Mr Yasuhiro Kaihara, 45, owner of a furniture export company in Singapore and three Japanese eateries in Hiroshima, learnt that Mr Ito wanted to expand the business into South-east Asia last year, and decided to start a Marvelous Cream franchise here.

He says: “The store is very popular in Japan but its takings dip a little in winter, so Mr Ito wanted to open in a place where it is always summer.”

Having lived here for 14 years, Mr Kaihara believes Marvelous Cream would be well received among sweet-toothed Singaporeans.

He says: “There aren’t other stores here that sell cold stone Japanese ice cream with such a wide range of mix-in items.”

On what makes his ice cream, produced in Marvelous Cream’s Hiroshima factory, distinctively Japanese in taste, he says: “Our ice cream is made using milk from Hokkaido, which is well-known for its high quality dairy. Hokkaido milk is smooth and rich in flavour, so ice cream made with it is creamier.”

Japanese restaurant Azabu Sabo’s five Hokkaido Ice Cream scoop stores here, including one in Central, as well as ice cream kiosk MOF @ Japanese Express in Raffles City, also use Hokkaido milk because of its premium appeal.

To keep the taste authentic, retailers such as Haato, which opened its fourth shop recently at Friven & Co in Tanglin Road, also uses imported ingredients, including green tea powder and red beans from Japan.

Haato’s owner, Mr Oliver Chan, 34, says the chain uses the recipe inherited from the former Japanese owner, who ran the flagship shop in Liang Court in the 1980s.

Another thing that sets Japanese ice cream apart from Western versions is its lighter taste, says Ms Jacquelyn Ng, 26, business development manager of Uzumaki, a soft-serve ice cream chain with outlets in Bugis Junction and Cineleisure.

Uzumaki’s ice cream contains less than 10 per cent fat and is certified as a healthier snack by the Health Promotion Board.

It was started in 2006 and it is a collaboration between Singapore food and beverage company Oishi International, and a Japanese soft-serve ice cream chain that operates under a different name.

While customers here prefer Japanese ice cream in traditional flavours including green tea, red bean and black sesame, they also appreciate it in Singaporean flavours such as durian and lychee, available at Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream, and in varieties such as cookies and cream and rum and raisin at Haato.

Adding a twist to the usual presentation of Japanese ice cream in a cone, cup or waffle bowl is Mochi Creamery’s mochi ice cream.

The bite-size confection of ice cream encased in mochi (sticky rice flour) skin comes in 20 flavours and is sold at Beard Papa cream puff counters here.

Mr Ng Kee Huat, 51, who owns the Beard Papa franchise here and Mochi Creamery, says the ice cream is his own line of product. It was introduced last year as an alternative dessert option to the Japanese cream puffs he sells.

He adds: “Our mochi ice cream, which is imported from the United States, does not compete head-on with traditional scoop shops selling Japanese ice cream.”

Owners of ice cream shops selling the Western version do not feel themselves melting under the heat of competition from Japanese ice cream stores either.

Ms May Chan, 28, co-owner of Cold Rock Ice Creamery in Holland Village, which is a franchise of the popular Australian chain, says: “We sell more than just ice cream. We’re selling a fun experience because our customers get to personalise the ice cream with their own combinations of toppings.”

Mr Stanley Kwok, 53, owner of Island Creamery in Serene Centre and Great World City, adds: “Different customers have different preferences and every ice cream shop has its niche, so the market isn’t overcrowded.”

Events organiser Althea Lim, 24, for example, is a fan of Island Creamery’s icy treats because of its creative flavours such as pulut hitam (black glutinous rice) and teh tarik.

That said, the demand for Japanese ice cream remains strong. Mochi Creamery sells about 1,000 pieces of mochi ice cream daily and Haato has seen business at its Liang Court outlet grow by 20 per cent year on year since 2005.

Music teacher Jessica Irawan, 25, says she is a fan of Japanese ice cream because “it tastes richer and silkier than other types of ice cream, without being heavy on the stomach”.

Likewise, Mr Davidson Ang, 35, manager of an import-export wood business, says he enjoys Japanese ice cream because unlike American brands such as Ben and Jerry’s, it is not too sweet.

Hence, expansion is on the cards for all six Japanese ice cream retailers LifeStyle interviewed.

Haato is looking to open another two to three outlets by the end of this year, while Marvelous Cream is in talks to open another two by March next year in Orchard Road.

For singer-songwriter Caroline Tjen, 25, this is good news.

The Japanese ice cream lover says: “I will travel to satisfy my craving for ice cream when it kicks in, but if it’s more widely available, the pangs won’t be so unbearable.”

Cream of the crop:

Six cool spots to try out

Haato
Where: Four outlets, including 56 Tanglin Road, Friven & Co
Tel: 6734-5686,
Open: 9am to 9pm
Price: From $3 for a small cup of ice cream and $4 for a single cone of ice cream
What: Crowd favourites include green tea, black sesame, cookies and cream, as well as rum and raisin.

MOF @ Japanese Express
Where: 252 North Bridge Road, B1-49, Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: 6334-2202
Open: 11.30am to 9.30pm
Price: From $3.80 for a cup of ice cream
What: Choose from 16 flavours where the traditional varieties, such as green tea with red bean and black sesame, are the toothsome winners.

Uzumaki
Where: Three outlets, including 200 Victoria Street, B1-K18, Bugis Junction
Open: 10am to 11pm
Price: From $4 for a scoop of ice cream
What: This 90 per cent less fat soft-serve ice cream comes in flavours such as wasabi (Japanese horseradish), green tea and black sesame.

Marvelous Cream
Where: 1 Raffles Link, B1-04, CityLink Mall
Tel: 6238-1683
Open: 11am to 10pm
Price: $5.90 for a parfait and from $4.90 for a small cup of cold stone ice cream
What: Pick from 28 recommended combinations of cold stone ice cream, including strawberry sweet shortcake, Belgium banana chocolate and macaron rouge framboise. There are also seven different parfait selections such as mont blanc and tiramisu.

Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream
Where: Five outlets, including 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, 01-46, Central
Tel: 6534-7178
Open: 11am to 11pm
Price: From $3.80 for a single scoop of ice cream in a cup, and $4.30 for a single scoop in a cone
What: Its range of 25 flavours includes dark chocolate, sea salt with caramel, durian and lychee.

Mochi Creamery
Where: Four outlets, including 68 Orchard Road, B2-58, Plaza Singapura
Tel: 6238-7008
Open: 10am to 10pm
Price: $2 per piece, $11 for a box of six pieces
What: Its bite-size portion – gone in two bites – is big on gustatory pleasure for those who like their ice cream with a soft, chewy bite.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on July 20, 2008.