STORY: 'The Ramen Boy' restaurant launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on May 22, leading more than 100 people to join a waiting list to dine at the restaurant.

"It is so attractive because of its appearance - it looks very cute," said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be identified only as Mr Hu. "As for the cooking method, we use the simplest way, steam, so there is no difficulty to process it."

The restaurant steams the deep-sea creature for 10 minutes before adding it to the top of a bowl of ramen with thick chicken and fish broth. Each bowl costs 1,480 Taiwan dollars ($48).

Giant isopods - a distant cousin of crabs and prawns - are the largest among the thousands of species in the crustacean group, the NOAA Ocean Exploration said on its website.