This egg is not for the faint of heart.

One of our reporter Ahiruneko’s many beats is the fried meat cutlet specialty chain Katsuya. Having gone many times and learning their ways, he fancies himself something of an expert on all things breaded and fried there. However, fate always has a way of putting us in our place, and on 17 August he walked out of Katsuya feeling like a straight-up cutlet amateur.

It was on this day he visited Katsuya to sample their brand new menu item, the Shrimp Katsu & Chicken Katsu Aimori. This is the latest in Katsuya’s Aimori Series which heaps plentiful portions of fried meat cutlets into a single bowl.

This new edition was a tag-team of shrimp and chicken, served with some shredded cabbage and a drizzling of tartar sauce. Shrimp cutlets aren’t so common in some parts of the world, but at many fast food restaurants in Japan you’ll easily find patties in which the shrimp meat is minced and breaded just like any other meat might be.

That’s why Ahiruneko was more surprised by the chicken component of this bowl. The advertisement described it as “goro-goro” which is a Japanese onomatopoeia word for a rumbling sound.

The chicken did look quite rumbly, but because it was made of chicken breast, it was actually very light overall.

It turned out that the shrimp was the plumper cutlet both in terms of texture and taste. It blended really well with the tartar sauce too. Still, if Ahiruneko had to choose a favorite, he’d probably side with the smoothness of the chicken breast.

It was a good offering for 759 yen (US$5.63) on its own or 869 yen ($6.44) with a side of rice. It wasn’t nearly as heavy as it looked either. However…

This was not the only new item on the menu on this day…

There was one more challenger…

▼ THIS EGG!

Despite its modest appearance, like something his coworker Go might have made in his kitchen, this was no ordinary egg. It was a Full Power Egg for 110 yen ($0.82).

It was quite an imposing name, but Ahiruneko paid it no mind. For reporting purposes he split it open to reveal what looked like an ordinary hardboiled and seasoned egg.

After popping half of it into his mouth, there was only a second or so before all the pain receptors inside lit up like a theme park Christmas tree.

▼ Ahiruneko: “SPICY!!!!”

Caught completely unaware, the full power of the Full Power Egg unleashed itself on our reporter. It’s hard to say how much of the effect was pure spiciness and how much was the surprise of it all, but it’s safe to say it has a kick to it. Ahiruneko said the spiciness lingered for a while after as well.

He was completely duped by the restaurant though. He was so preoccupied with the Shrimp Katsu & Chicken Katsu Aimori that the Full Power Egg caught him completely off guard. It was a classic misdirection and Ahiruneko should have known that Katsuya was capable of such trickery.

Looks like he still has a lot to learn about the fried cutlet game.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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