Adorable contest-winning omuhayashi has a hibernating Moomin under fluffy egg sheets

Contest winners at Moomin Cafe

Fans of the internationally loved Finnish character franchise featuring the Moomins and all their adventures now have yet another reason to visit Moomin Cafe this winter.

The popular cafe held a contest last year in which ideas were submitted for possible dishes. After much consideration, the judging committee decided to turn two of the winning entries into real menu items, and now they've finally been added to the menu.

The two lucky entries were an adorable omuhayashi rice * dish in the theme of a hibernating Moomin, and a cream soda drink inspired by an episode in which Moomintroll discovers a tiny dragon in his fishing jar and tries to tame it as a pet.

* オムハヤシ omuhayashi or オムハヤシライス omuhayashi rice is a hybrid dish combining omurice (rice covered with a fluffy omelet) and hayashi rice, which is a Western-style hashed beef stew with a demiglace base served with rice.

"Moomin Waiting for Spring" Omuhayashi

After repeated trials and much finessing of the details, Moomin Cafe came up with a dish they were satisfied with.

On a backdrop of demiglace sauce and tender, stewed beef, with snowflake-shaped cheese representing the cold wintry world outside, a Moomin decorated in cheese happily sleeps on a bed of rice, hibernating as he waits for the arrival of Spring, warm and snug under a fluffy scrambled egg bed.

How adorable is that?

Name (JP): 春を待つムーミンのオムハヤシ
Translation: "Moomin Waiting for Spring" Omuhayashi
Price: 1,400 JPY + tax (1,300 JPY for Moomin Official Fan Club members)

"The Last Dragon on Earth" Jar Drink (w/ gift jar)

This special cream soda in a Mason jar is inspired by an episode entitled "The Last Dragon on Earth" in which Moomintroll discovers a tiny dragon in his fishing jar, and takes it home to try to tame it as a pet. The emerald green color of the soda conveys the color of the pond water, the dragon from the story decorates the side of the jar, and the apple decoration on top represents the smoke trailing up into the air from the tiny dragon's mouth.

And when you've finished, the jar is yours to take with you as a souvenir of your experience.