There is something about Ryu, located at the corner of Summer Avenue and White Station Road, that is incredibly inviting.

Perhaps it’s the tranquil synchronicity between the open kitchen and dining room, the calming sound of running water from the fish tanks near the entrance or the blanket-like warming scent of beef bone broth in the air. Whatever it is, it’s one of my favorite midday spots to come and clear my head, alone, over a bowl of soup and a sushi roll. Nothing quite like it.

I also love not having to choose. The concept at Ryu is rather unique, albeit simple: sushi and pho. Everything in between is an iteration, in some way adjacent to either sushi or pho. If you haven’t had the fortune of experiencing the beauty of Ryu yet, allow me to explain:

While rolls and noodle soups are the lynchpin of the menu, the appetizers are simply smaller versions, so it’s easy to get both.

$10 Deal: LuLu’s breakfast sandwiches

My go-to starter, which also happens to be a light lunch in and of itself— as well as, you guessed it, today’s $10 Deal — is the kimchi dumpling soup. At a mere $6.95, this soup comes in a size somewhere between a cup and a bowl. It’s pretty to look at and even more fun to eat.

The kimchi dumpling soup is pretty much all my favorite things splish-splashing around together in a hot tub of savory pho broth; it’s a strange and delicious three-way handshake between Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

The kimchi tastes lightly fermented and doesn’t overwhelm the subtle sweetness that is (and always should be) characteristic of beef pho. Speaking of which, the broth itself is rich, clean and well-spiced, and is a wonderful medium for the funky brightness of the kimchi and the vegetal pungency of the thinly-sliced green and red onion.

$10 Deal: A behemoth of a fish taco at Elwood’s Shack

Then there’s my favorite part: The dumplings. You might, as I did, expect the soup to have a soft, steamed dumpling, which is typical of most dumpling soups. I’m happy to report that this soup has completely rewired my brain with the use of fried gyoza instead.

The veggie pockets are fried to a nice crispness before being dropped into the amalgamation, softening them up a bit, but still retaining a semblance of crisp amid the broth. Texturally and favorfully, it’s brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?

This soup is a very minor commitment — if you don’t like it, though I’m pretty positive you will, it’s only about seven bucks and small enough to apologize for. But it’s not so small that it can’t count as a lunch on its own. That said, since it’s so conservatively priced, it leaves a lot of room for other additions, such as a simple classic roll, edamame or a few pieces of nigiri.

$10 Deal: This restaurant’s lemongrass beef spices up a hot day

There’s a lot to choose from at Ryu under $10 — more than I can speak on in this piece. But I can say this: If you’re looking for something cheap, delicious and existentially reassuring, you might be looking for the kimchi dumpling soup at Ryu.

Ryu, at 5137 Summer Ave., is open Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.