Raw is more with Le Meridien's oysterfest
By John Aglionby
JAKARTA (JP): King Henri IV of France ate 20 dozen without batting an eyelid, Marie Antoinette had large quantities shipped specially to her at Versailles and Field Marshall Janot regularly ate 300 each morning for breakfast.
Such gluttony may be exceptional but oysters' lack of calories, combined with their shells' aphrodisiac properties, has made them objects of desire ever since the Greeks first acknowledged their dietetic qualities 2500 years ago.
Rarely eaten in Asia outside Japan, oysters, complete with a maitre ecailler (oyster master) on hand to demonstrate his craft, are currently on offer at Le Meridien's Brasserie restaurant.
Many seafood restaurants allow one to choose one's meal from a tank brimming with fish. The difference with oysters is that one does not have to wait for the food to be cooked before appeasing one's hunger, one only has to select the type and size.
They range from 00 (the biggest) to 5. Most of those at Le Meridien are size 2 -- large enough but not nearly sufficient to completely satisfy! As for type, there are several varieties to choose from. Most in the promotion are either Belon or flat.
From watching Monsieur Jerome at work it is obvious that neither Henri IV nor Marie Antoinette ever opened their own oysters.
Prizing apart the tightly sealed shells is no easy task. Admittedly, practice makes perfect but I was still glad to let the expert risk severing his hand rather than face the rest of my life with a maimed limb.
Smelling the brown watery blob is enough to warn that anything is wrong. Any oyster with a remotely suspicious odor should be discarded immediately; it would probably cause more havoc to an unsuspecting digestive system than any warung es campur covered in untreated ice.
The next test is the delicate prod. Getting a reaction from these creatures staring death in the face is a good sign. It is as if they are aware of their fate and are willing to go quietly to satisfy a drooling human's craving.
The attraction of eating oysters is that neither plates nor cutlery are needed. The shell acts as the former and the latter would only get in the way.
French connoisseurs -- the ones on offer at Le Meridien are flown in from the Brittany town of Cancale -- usually add a vinegary shallot sauce to the oysters. But to provide variety, Antoine Audran, the hotel's executive chef, is also offering lemon juice, with brown bread and butter.
Indeed diners unhappy with either of the above were seen tossing on Tabasco and others, obviously unable to break the habit of a lifetime, were spooning on sambal (chili sauce). King Henri was probably spinning in his grave!
The cooked offerings, such as the Rockfeller oysters gratinated with a splash of champagne, were not nearly as tasty as the raw ones. It was not only that they were too salty, the extra ingredients also detracted from the taste of the oysters themselves.
The prices are likely to prohibit anyone challenging Field Marshall Janot's record as one Belon oyster costs Rp 13,000. But perhaps that is a good thing -- particularly if one's stomach is not used to them -- as they are so moorish.
Oysters are not the only shellfish on the menu. Pan fried sea scallop with garlic, tomato and parsley sauce and poached pink prawns in Muscadet winebroth are two of the other items. Wanting to relive childhood feasts, I plumped for the muscles cooked with white wine, garlic and parsley.
They were fantastic, although some people may find the parsley a little overpowering, and tasted even better if complemented with a glass of dry white wine.
It is a shame the promotion only has a few days to run as one visit is not really enough. And what is worse is that it will be another year before the height of the oyster-eating season comes round again.