I think I've probably just had the best oyster of all time. At the Whitstable Fish Market. In a shed. The future Mrs Aitch and I were down in Kent for the weekend, and decided to investigate Whistable; that fascinating sea-side town on the North Kent coast- where the Thames Estuary meets the bleak North Sea.
Forget all your fancy London oyster bars, and swanky fish restaurants; I've decided that there is only one way to sample oysters, and that's the way we did it late on Saturday afternoon: standing on a wet concrete floor in the Whitstable harbour fishing sheds.
The fishmonger shucks your oyster on the spot (65p a shot), piles up some crushed ice on a small plastic tray, and throws on a roughly cut wedge of lemon. You take your tray over to a grubby formica table, where there are plastic bottles of chili and malt vinegars, and Tabasco.
Really fresh oysters give you an immediate kick: it's the ozone rich, salty liquor- which tastes slightly metallic; and is full of zinc. It's the taste of The Sea.
