This Strawberry Soda Float is the summer drink that you always dream about! Fresh strawberries, soda and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Strawberry season is here! Red ripe fresh strawberries are the BEST! On Friday, Bryan and I took my Hong Kong friends, who are visiting Los Angeles, to a strawberry farm. Strawberry picking is a rare thing in Hong Kong, so we were all really excited. There were tons and tons of ripe strawberries. We filled up our baskets quickly and we ate plenty of strawberries too! So fresh!
It didn’t take me long to figure out what I want to do with the strawberries. It is a soda float. While in Osaka, we went to a character cafe. I adore many cartoon characters, like Doraemon, Winnie the Pooh and Pompompurin. So when I knew there is a Pompompurin Cafe in Osaka, I beg Bryan to go with me. Pompompurin is one of the characters from Sanrio. It is a yellow dog with a beret that looks like a custard pudding. Enter the cafe felt like entering to another world. Everything either looks like Pompompurin or related to Pompompurin. The food is the same too. Super adorable! Even though most of the food are not very memorable, we absolutely love the soda floats. We got a strawberry one and a mango one. They don’t taste artificial! It was refreshing and delicious!
Here I am at home and I really want to recreate that amazing strawberry soda float. This drink is very easy to make and you only need a few ingredients. First, prepare the strawberry syrup. Cook the strawberries and sugar until combined and slightly thickened. Let it cool and chill. When ready to use, add the syrup to glasses, pour in club soda and top with vanilla ice cream. YUM! This sweet and cool drink is excellent for summer time and anyone can enjoy it!
*PS. The little pompompurin cup is a free souvenir from the cafe when you buy certain food. Isn’t it cute? 🙂
Strawberry Soda Float
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cold club soda
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
Strawberry Syrup:
- 12 fresh strawberries (rinsed, hulled, and cut into ¼-inch cubes)
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- 3 hours ahead, in a medium pot over medium heat, add strawberries, sugar and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium-low heat. Cook until the strawberries are soften, about a few minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, transfer to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge for 2 hours.
- In 2 tall glasses, place half of the syrup in each cup. Pour 8 ounces of club soda into each cup. Mix with a spoon. Top each drink with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you have crushed ice, you can add some too. Ice cream will go on top of ice.
Pompompurin is adorable (and a cafe with all Pompompurin food sounds so fun), but your float looks way better than theirs! Pretty and refreshing!
Yes, pompompurin is chubby and cute! You got to visit a character cafe when visiting Japan! I think there is a Pompompurin cafe in Tokyo too! It will be fun! Thank you for your sweet words. 🙂
This looks so gorgeous and how could it not be delicious. Love being inspired by travels. That cafe is beyond fun and your soda float does them proud. I’d be happy to have yours over theirs any day! And on the subject of strawberries – man, when they are good, they are just unbeatable. This coming from a chocoholic. ; )
Thank you so much, Monica! Haha, the strawberries look so red and smell fantastic in farmers’ market. I couldn’t resist! If you ever get a chance to visit a character cafe, you really should. Your kids will love it!