Tall, cool, slim and graceful: Meet Millecre's Tokyo Tower 333, the gorgeous new face on the ice-cream block.

Tokyo Tower 333 debuted in Tokyo's Shin-Okubo just this April. With its long, curvy, 33-cm body, this hot and sexy number is sure to cool you off, and maybe even give you the shivers.

In either chocolate or vanilla, or a blend of both, this 300 yen Tokyo Tower 333 doesn't leave you dry and thirsty like the regular sickly sweet ice cream, but light and refreshed -- a must, of course, or a cone that size would just be too much.

Although the name of this towering confection was inspired by 333-meter-high Tokyo Tower, it originally sprang up in South Korea, where it stands a proud 32 cm, said Millecre storekeeper Kim Rin Na. But there, if by some slip of the vendor's hand it doesn't fully rise to the occasion, the customer gets it for free -- a service that, unfortunately, didn't make it across the Sea of Japan.

"The climate is so different here," said Kim. "It was fine in April and May, but the summers are so hot in Japan that we cannot promise free ice cream if it doesn't reach 33 cm, because it melts so easily."

Technique matters

Millecre doesn't open till 3 p.m., but even at 4 p.m. one recent steamy afternoon, this customer found her Tokyo Tower 333 beginning to wilt just 30 licking seconds in.

How to deal with the dripping beast? The trick, it seems, is not to start at the top and work down, but to lick evenly all round, from bottom to top, again and again. That way, it stays firm and balanced and the bottom doesn't melt while you're at work on the tip.

"Because it's long and narrow and relatively stiff, we usually don't have many problems," said Kim in a serious tone. "But we always warn customers to make sure they hold the cone straight up. Otherwise, the ice cream will lose its balance and topple over."

But Kim hadn't factored in Murphy's Law. As she frowned with concentration to create my dream ice cream -- and a line formed behind me waiting for theirs -- just as she was about to reach the final swirl, the cornucopia suddenly wobbled and fell off the cone.

"They're not only difficult to eat, but hard to make as well," Kim said ruefully.

So why bother?

"Because it's unusual and interesting," she said. "And I hope that Tokyo Tower 333 will eventually be the standard size for all ice creams."

Now that's a tall order . . .