This is Ube Yamaguchi kana, a crab that is wild caught and mostly female. Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, has a crab from Seto Inland Sea. The blue crab is caught in the waters of Ube and in the winter is especially delicious.

The dish is extravagant, the chef says, “Caspian Sea caviar Beluga” as I shutter inside. I wonder whether any chef in Japan can get his hands on Beluga caviar given the embargo. The caviar tastes slightly woody, a 500g crab capped off with the a small amount of Beluga. The meat mixture with egg seated on a bed of rice. A nice dish, simple, clean and to the point.

The chef soaks the outer shell over night in vinegar to make the shell soft and flexible for the presentation of his dish. It is all in the technique.