Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
After the launch of durian ramen in Malaysia, we thought we'd seen it all.
Lo and behold, we were wrong.
Isopod ramen
Taipei ramen joint, The Ramen Boy (拉麵公子), has upped the game with something straight out of the "Alien" franchise.
On May 22, The Ramen Boy made a Facebook post celebrating the launch of their limited edition isopod ramen.
Photos from 拉麵公子 on Facebook.
Remember Facehuggers?
Gif from Alien: Covenant.
Priced at a hefty NT$1,480 (S$64.74), the dish is made by first removing the intestines of the isopod before steaming it.
Photo from 拉麵公子 on Facebook.
"The white meat tastes like lobster and crab... the yellow glands taste like crab roe," the restaurant offered helpfully.
Photo from 拉麵公子 on Facebook.
Isopods cooked in the noodle bar were fished from the waters surrounding Dongsha Islands, southwest of Kaohsiung.
The restaurant's excitement to get their hands on the creature was palpable.
They dubbed it their "dream ingredient".
Gif from The Office.
What the heck is that?
For those who didn't know of isopods before this, here's a quick zoology lesson.
First of all, yes, they exist.
They were actually the subject of an internet meme for awhile.
Image from Know Your Meme.
Image from Know Your Meme.
An isopod is a crustacean closely related to woodlice.
While some species of isopods can be found on land, the ones served by The Ramen Boy are aquatic, mostly lurking on the seabed or the bottom of freshwater water bodies.
These alien-like critters have light-sensitive eyes, making them mostly nocturnal and even spawning a new cultural phrase.
Image from Urban Dictionary.
Top images via 拉麵公子/Facebook