It once seemed that the height of plate-lunch decadence was the hyphenated gut bomb called the chicken katsu-curry. Marinated, batter-dipped and deep-fried chicken over rice plus a heavy blanket of golden curry over it all. A first-class ticket to an afternoon nap, evening heartburn and elevated blood glucose for a week.

But then, local plate lunch purveyors got extreme. The chicken katsu curry plate came with a new option: cheese. Cardiologists everywhere must have rolled their eyes and opened their appointment books in anticipation of new patients.

Still, it wasn't enough. The culture demanded more on top of more. Excess on top of extreme. We live in a time of toothbrushes that play selections from the Black Eyed Peas, Elmo dolls that have a grand mal when you tickle them and plastic straws the size of sewer mains so you can suck up the cookie shards in your blended coffee shake without having to bother with a spoon.

Still, oyster katsu curry is on the edge of the edge.

Once the white Styrofoam container is ordered and opened, there is the initial visual shock. Oyster katsu curry doesn't have much curb appeal. It is not a feast for the eyes. There are five brown, crusty lumps covered in thick brown sauce. Have you seen the "litter box" cakes people make with coconut flakes and Tootsie rolls? This is worse.

But taste-wise it's OK. Not as good as chicken katsu curry, but not gross or anything. And with oysters in a plate lunch place, there's always the chance of it being gross. Chicken in a plate lunch is pretty hard to ruin, whereas oysters can get that bitter taste that doesn't go well with the katsu action.

How could anyone eat something like that for lunch and then go back to work the second half of the day? It is more a pre-hibernation meal.

Oyster katsu curry over rice goes for $7.25 at Tokyo Noodle House and $6.95 at Sumo Ramen & Curry (mini is $4.95) and is now available just about everywhere katsu and curry are served together.

What could top this? The mind races, the stomach braces. Squid katsu curry? Kau yuk katsu curry? Chicken katsu curry over cake noodle?

But of course: Spam katsu curry. During more austere times, we turn to our old friend Spam to provide the protein-ish stand-in for higher priced meat and seafood. The days of wine and roses, of oyster and katsu, may be waning and a more modest gut bomb will have to do. In case you were wondering, Spam katsu curry is available at Sumo Ramen & Curry in Market City, Kamehameha Shopping Center, Kapolei, Pearl City and Kane'ohe Bay shopping center.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.