Oysters are a real treat, even though there is a hard outer shell, the real gem (and i'm not talking about pearls) is the soft succulent meat that should be both soft and fresh. Even though Oysters can be enjoyed any time of year, eating fresh oysters during the Summer is preferred as they can really help cool you down. Just like Minions, Oysters come in all shapes and sizes, big, small, fat, slim and they even different in breed. Usually, the Oyster's are determined by the location at which they were farmed. As a girl that grew up by the sea, I have a good sense of the sea. Everytime I eat oysters, I seemingly taste the sea of a different region or place. You could say, if you taste enough different oysters, you have basically tasted the world's various waters.
生蚝就像珍珠，被含在硬硬的蚝壳，要很用力才能取出生蚝。他的肉质及其鲜嫩，尤其是夏天吃到凉爽又多滋多味。生蚝就像minions，看着一样其实有高矮胖瘦品种的差别。它的品种常常以生蚝的培养地作为标识，我从小在海边长大，所以特别喜欢海，每次试吃生蚝的时候，都会试着感受生蚝背后海水的味道。如果你能尝遍不同种类的生蚝，那么你大概就尝便了来自世界各地的海水。
France is known as the definitive place to go enjoy oysters, it's oyster 'culture' is unrivalled. As a matter of fact, you can get the best variety of tastes of oysters in France due to the intense competition of serving the best tasting oysters. One quick look around on Yelp and I find the most recommended restaurant to be Paris' Opium La Cabane. This restaurant specialises in serving oysters. I take a look at the menu and and find different kinds of labels. N1 represents it's size, so N1 is larger than N2. With such a wide selection and with my limited French reading ability, I told the lady to recommend a bit of everything worth tasting. Little did I know, that eating oysters without the mignonette or tabasco sauce is thought to be the best way to enjoy the unique taste of each oyster. So, I tasted the oysters without the extra's and I found that the owner was right. I had discovered a new understanding of eating oysters!
法国是吃生蚝最有情怀和历史的地方。他们的生蚝文化是全世界不可比拟的。法国的生蚝味道非常丰富，他们在各个餐厅激烈的竞争下，培育出了世界最丰富的生蚝品种。就拿我在yelp上随意挑选的生蚝店来说，Opium La Cabane是一家非常专业的生蚝店，虽然店面小，服务人员只有一个，但是一看菜单，我就晕了，菜单上按照0分等级，0太多可能肉质会老。N1则是代表尺码，N1比N2大，并且这家店是按个卖的。所以我就听老板的推荐，都点来尝尝。没吃这一家生蚝之前，我喜欢加蒜泥和柠檬汁，有时候想吃口味重的，则会加Tabasco。但是这一家老板认真的教我生蚝怎么吃，并且建议我什么东西都不加，尝尝原味，那一次午餐之后我对生蚝有了新的认识。
如图：
This is the photo:
The experience that left me the deepest impression was a restaurant that I visited which required no booking. It was a walk-in Oyster restaurant. The lady ran this restaurant herself, and she both prepared as well as served the meal. The lady was particularly passionate and was adamanent on giving me the best selection of Oysters to taste. She even gave me a free bottle of Champagne! Fantastic! The atmosphere of this place was so heartwarming, it felt like I was right at home and having dinner served by my grandmother.
At some point during my meal, an elderly man walked in and sat himself down without ever ordering from the menu. In just a few moments, the owner began serving the elderly man some starters followed by the main oysters. It is as if the man was a regular customer of many years that the lady knew what he wanted.After finishing the meal, the lady came over to ask how I found the oysters. Of course, I was more than satisfied. She brought over a photoframe with a photograph of a man on a wooden boat. She told me that the man in the picture is the owner, and to this day, he harvests and farms the oysters from that place every single day. It was a black and white photo and it really made me appreciate my meal just that much more. Actually, there are many such Oyster restaurants in France, home run businesses where the owner and customer are just like friends. It's at that point that I realised that the enjoyment of Oysters is more than just the nuitrional benefit, but rather the combination of the company, the atmosphere, the oysters of course and the feelings and mood that is generated.
法国还有一家印象深刻的店，是随遍walk in 的，店铺只能摆下四张桌子，一个和蔼可亲的老太太为我们服务。她非常热情的招待我们，为我们推荐今天特色的生蚝，还送我们香槟，那种感觉就像回到了家，外婆为你精心准备的晚餐。在那里吃饭的顾客有一个人来的老爷爷，坐下之后没有点餐，老太太就端上了前菜，之后是生蚝，可以想象大概是几十年熟悉的客人了，所以完全知道老爷爷爱吃什么。餐后老太太拿来一个相框，画面里一个木头船，一个老人站在船上，很有意境，她告诉我这是他的老板亲自种植生蚝的场景。其实像法国这个家庭式的生蚝店还有很多，店员就像自己家来了客人一样热情的招待，那一刻我懂了原来吃生蚝吃的是一种情怀。
In England, there are two Oyster bars that I can recommend, Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill in Harrods is one that focuses on the quality oysters imported from France. The taste definitely holds up to its reputation.
在英国也有2家店值得推荐，Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill做的是精品生蚝，味道也是很棒，产地大多是来自法国。在harrods里面有一家分店。
Wright Brothers in London's Carnaby street is another place I visit and recommend. They have happy hours where 1 Oyster costs just 1 pound in off peak times, so if you're feeling like eating a large number, then that's the best option for value. If you're lucky, you may even get Oysters from the south of france in the happy hour deal.
Wright Brothers在伦敦Carnaby street有一家，在工作日的夏午有happy hours，一只生蚝只要1磅，如果你想大量吃，去那里再好不过了。运气好还能碰上从南方来的生蚝。
Actually Oysters are a dish enjoyed in Chinese cuisine too. But in China，people like to cook them. To me, a cooked oyster seems to have lost some of its flavour.
The two main ways people eat Oysters in China are steamed oysters over porridge.
其实在中国，大家也喜欢吃生蚝，不过大多要煮熟了吃，我总觉得少了一番滋味。
例如粥火锅里的蒸生蚝
夜市里的烤生蚝
or baked oysters with garlic.
Taiwan's Oyster Omelette
台湾的蚵仔煎
Vietnams Oyster Omelette
越南的生蚝鸡蛋
I always wondered, with all these big regions like Asia, America and Europe eating oysters, what do people do with all the shells left over? Can you use them to build houses? Or are there other uses?
关于生蚝，其实我一直在思考，世界上日本，美国和欧洲都是吃生蚝的大国，那么那么多人吃完的生蚝壳要怎么处理呢？拿来盖房子？还是有别的用处？