Japanese Transparent Dessert

There's a new Japanese dessert that looks like a giant water droplet on a plate. This transparent confection is calledand has to be eaten within 30 minutes of being presented.

Shingen mochi is a Japenese dessert made from gyuhi, a soft form of rice cake which is sprinkled with kinako soybean powder and brown sugar syrup.

This particular version of mochi, the mizu or water kind, is made from water from the Southern Japanese Alps. The water has been solidified just enough to give it shape.

A New Type of Mochi

Rocketnews reports:

"According to the Kinseiken website, the mizu shingen mochi is so soft that it feels like it might break with just a gentle poke, and it melts away like water in your mouth. The water cake is, in fact, so delicate that once taken out of its container and presented at room temperature, it will lose its shape in about 30 minutes, which is why you can only have them in the shop and not to take home."

So far, this is only available in two stores in Kinseiken, but those who have tried it say on Twitter that it's "refreshingly cool" and "tasty" - it certainly looks it!