I am a Shenzhen resident and my head  nearly blew off when May Day Holiday (International Labor Day) came by plus drizzling weather. But somehow I decided to chill out somewhere nearby but away from the city. I was told there are nice tiny islands in Zhuhai, so I determined to drive my way to explore.

My choice: Hengqin Island, which is famous for its super-size oysters. Also, an easy 2.5 hours’ drive, super highway, good-functioned GPS, led me to this wonderland.

When I drove off the highway, a bright hill immediately caught my eyes with protruding billboad on which was written, ‘ Hengqin Oysters’.Taking a closer look, I was stunned to find out the hill is actually made of piles of oyster shells, lots and lots of them. I was about to jump off and scream when my boyfriend pulled me back by reminding, ‘We should keep looking, maybe we could find some place more attractive, and less expensive than this one.’ I agreed.

So we drove away from this bloody scene and continued our jouney. At such a short turn on the left down the lane, I knew I had bumped into my oyster heaven.

A long row of booths stood in front of me with its end that cannot be seen. They were all about the same look. A little shabby, but what could you expect from farming people who live beside oyster -breeding spots, and also doing the cultivation and business at the same time? As I drove on, the booth-runners all came out and yelled, ‘Come, roasted oysters here!’

We picked one shop at the end of the tail to have a try. The roasted oysters were served with wrapped foil paper. The size is not as appealling to me as I thought, but they were mouthful, enough to fill the appetite. What’s more, the prize was very reasonable, 50 RMB/kg (raw meet, no shells).

As we talked to the cook, I got to know my choice of time was poor. In May, the oysters are still in their infancy, but they will grow chubby and fertile by November. They will be about fist-size and perfect to wolf down. Well, I think it is fairly easy to find my fist-size oyster. But the cook suggested every one could have the match.