Not too long ago a friend told me that Putien was having some sort of an Oyster Festival with orh luak on the menu and asked me if I wanted to go.
One of the things you must know about me is that I'm always on the lookout for good orh luak- I'm kind of particular about the crisp and the amount of flour they use- and since Putien is considered to have a bit of a reputation, I figured it worth trying.
So we went.
There were three dishes that we had on the table that late afternoon.
What their names were, I don't remember, but there was the oyster omelet, there was a udon dish, and there was what I think a sort of dumpling dish with oysters in the broth underneath.
I wish I knew precisely just which of the 7 oyster dishes this was, because, for the life of me, right now I cannot remember.
I'm not even sure if it were dumplings.
Neither am I sure if that golden liquid there was a soup or a sauce or some sort of oil.
What this dish is called, what it constitutes, has entirely slipped my mind.
The one thing I'm sure of however is that there were those HUM oysters underneath all the smooth silky-looking shiny, shiny thing inside the bowl.
We wouldn't have ordered it otherwise.
The other two dishes were more memorable.
First up was the oyster omelet which I had high hope of, and which, glad I am to say that it did not disappoint.
Not only was the portion larger than expected, the omelet was flat, not thick, the egg was fried to a light crunchy crisp, and the omelet itself came chock full of HUM oysters scattered all over.
It was actually quite fun digging out the oysters from the fried egg.
I liked the egg omelet more than I did the oysters, actually.
My friend, however, had a fine time chomping down on them all, so we split the dish to a degree where we each got the portion we liked.
That didn't mean I discovered no love for the HUM.
No, I simply found them in the other dish, which, other than calling it a soup/broth of udon, I also have no idea its name.
This, however, is the dish that I hope to go for when I come back to Putien next time.
I loved everything about it.
It might have been that I already have a love for the chewy udon noodle.
It might also have been that I loved the soup so thick that it reminded me more of a broth/stew than that of a noodle soup.
It's impossible to forget how the broth was like, I tell you.
I wish I could describe in better detail how it tasted like, but because I can't, let's just say that every spoonful made m think of the sea, made of think of fishing boats and their catch, made me think of shorelines at low tide, and the distinctive scent that being near rivers and waters bring.
I loved stirring my spoon around the broth looking for any oysters that might have slipped beneath.
I also loved mixing the small bits of fragrant truffle mushrooms with the udon and eating it all together with the oysters.
But I loved the noodles with the broth best of all, and I hope it remains a permanent one on the menu.