TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taipei restaurant is now serving a ramen dish that features a generous helping of giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus).
It's not unusual for ramen restaurants to experiment with non-traditional toppings such as cake, but on Monday (May 22), The Ramen Boy (拉麵公子) raised the bar on its Facebook page by announcing a new flavor: "Giant isopod with creamy chicken broth ramen." Taiwanese have likened it to serving the giant insect Ohmu (King Bug) from Hayao Miyazak's film "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind."
(Facebook, The Ramen Boy photo)
In its announcement, The Ramen Boy proclaimed that it had finally obtained the "dream ingredient" — giant isopod. The ramen restaurant said to prepare the crustacean, it removed the stomach viscera, kept its glands for consumption, and steamed the remaining meat in the shell.
According to the eatery, the white meat of the creature tastes like "lobster and crab." It claims the isopod's yellow glands taste like "crab paste," which is "unexpectedly sweet."
(Facebook, The Ramen Boy photo)
The owner of the restaurant wrote that the giant isopod is "very cute" and when visiting Japan he would often admire the creature in aquariums. However, the asking price is not cheap, with one bowl costing NT$1,480 (US$48) and as supplies are limited, the dish is only available to regular customers.
Later that day, Animal Planet Taiwan responded to the ad with a Facebook post presenting basic information about the species. They are solitary creatures known to inhabit waters at depths of 170 meters to 2,140 meters, but 80% of them live at depths of 365 meters to 730 meters, usually in mud or layers of clay.
(Facebook, The Ramen Boy photo)
The author of the post wrote that a giant isopod is a carnivorous animal that mainly eats the remains of marine organisms, and also preys on slow-moving marine life, such as sea cucumbers, sponges, nematodes, and radiolarians.
Lin Hsien-kun (林憲坤), an aquarium expert, was cited by SET News as saying that the giant isopod starts out in the manca stage as a parasite that feeds off the blood and flesh of its hosts. When they reach a certain size, they are no longer able to parasitize and will become seabed scavengers, feeding on fish carcasses on the bottom of the sea.
(Facebook, The Ramen Boy photo)
Lin said that the crustaceans can be caught off Taiwan's coastal waters in places such as Keelung's Heping Island, and although some people may find their appearance not very pleasing, "Fear comes from the unknown, and people who like it, like it very much." According to The Ramen Boy, the specimens served in the restaurant were caught near the Dongsha Islands.