My first restaurant experience in Tsukuba ended up being Katsuryu Koukakudo (活龍 海老蟹専門). Opens for dinner at 5:30pm and immedietly, four other customers were lined up and ready to go. This place seems to specialize in seafood ramen, as their menu has a broth made from spiny lobster (伊勢海老) and sea urchin (雲丹). Feeling a bit skeptical about having an uni broth for a first go, I braved in with the spiny lobster tsukemen with a "medium" amount of noodles (中盛り) + a side of iron pan fried gyoza (龍神 餃子).
As the awkward foreigner I am, I sat waiting in anticipation without wifi and wondering where the water dispenser is. After a few moments of another customer showing up and getting up from his seat to get water, I finally filled my glass and continued gazing at the ramen chef's systematically and carefully prepare all the dishes.
The time finally for me to receive the Ise-ebi tsukemen in a hot stone bowl. The biggest mistake I made with this order was having lunch and ordering 中盛り. The intensity of the lobster/shrimpy in the broth was incredibly shocking and maybe even thought-provoking. It almost felt like I had a bowl of molten kani (or should I say, ebi?) miso coating these thick chewy noodles. It was to the point where slurping felt superficial. If I were to guess how they'd make it, they probably treat it like a tonkotsu and have the shells of the lobster in the broth for as long as possible until they're blend-able. Towards the end, all the body and head meat where thrown in the blend and continue to boil until it's this decadent viscous broth.
By the time I finished 50% of the noodles, I had felt incredibly content and was concerned that I had not even touched the gyoza. Thankfully, they were very nice; I couldn't quite discern the exact seasonings in it so I will need to visit this place again just to take a second crack. I don't know if they had Japanese curry spices mixed into the gyoza mix or not but, that's for next time.
Overall, I think I'd give it a 7.8/10 since. The first few bites were incredible and so unique but I needed to add vinegar and rayu just to try and give my palette some relief. I would highly recommend this bowl if you're a shrimp/crab/lobster lover and can handle heavy dishes. If you wanted a similar flavor profile but on the lighter side, I suspect the ramen version is worth the try. Additionally, I am definitely excited to see what the uni one is like.
Update (May 6): As I am finding out the next day, it is not for the faint of heart and body...
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