The Terroir of Oysters

Like great wine, fresh oysters tell the story of the place they were grown, from the fleshy, nutty Tsakarya from Brittany in France to the briny pacific oysters grown in Dungarvan Bay, Ireland. At the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, guests can experience these different tastes via one of the city’s most unique restaurants.

In wine circles, the French word terroir is used to describe the alchemy that occurs when environmental factors such as land, temperature and soil combine to shape the taste of a region’s wine. Like grapes, the flavours, textures and even colours of an oyster are also influenced by the terroir of the marine ecosystem in which they are cultivated.

Gillardeau oysters from Normandy, France 

For instance: oysters grown in fresher water, or soon after rain, have a sweet flavour while oysters grown close to an estuary mouth usually feature a saltier, briny flavour. The varying hints of green and yellow in the oyster’s fringe are influenced by the vegetation beneath the surface. 

Based at the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, riverside restaurant and bar Sirimahannop brings oysters from around the world to one of the city’s most unique venues: a three-mast boat styled on a Rama V era navy ship, docked on the Chao Phraya river. When eating oysters, experienced tasters look for five major flavour components: brine, creaminess, sweetness, mineralisation and umami.

Tsarskaya oysters from Cancale, France 

Brine

When an oyster is harvested, it retains saltwater to regulate its environment and maintain condition while out of the water. The intensity of the brine is determined by the salinity of the marine environment from which the oyster is harvested.

Creaminess 

Ninety percent of the oyster meat is made up of the reproductive gland. The level of creaminess in an oyster is determined by where the oyster is in its reproductive cycle.

Sweetness 

The oyster’s adductor muscle connects the top and bottom shells. Its main function is to open and close the shell to allow water in and out. The adductor muscle is very similar in function to the meat of a scallop and the level of sweetness in an oyster is determined by the size of this muscle.

Mineralisation 

Mineralisation is most prevalent on the back palate or by how the oyster “finishes”. The intensity of this flavour is directly related to the concentration of trace minerals accumulated in the oyster.

Umami 

Also known as the “fifth taste” alongside sweet, sour, bitter and salt, umami (a deep, rich, savoury taste) in an oyster is influenced by the vegetation that is in the water when the oyster is feeding. 

Fine de Claire oyster from Marenne-Oleron, France

Four major breeds of oysters are featured regularly at Sirimahannop, starting with the famous Gillardeau oysters that are raised in Normandy (France) or County Cork (Ireland) for their first two years, then finished in the salt ponds of Marenne-Oleron, just north of Bordeaux in the west of France. This combination of environments gives the Gillardeau oysters its characteristic minerality and bright salinity with deeper, more vegetal notes on the back palette.

Also from the Marenne-Oleron region is the Fine de Claire, another famous French oyster. The oysters are finished in a knee-deep claire – a rectangular pond sealed off from the ocean in which algae is grown – for a minimum of one month, during which time they fatten and take on a sweeter, fruitier flavour from the water and phytoplankton in the ponds. 

Cunnigar Dungar oyster from Waterford County, Ireland

Produced in Cancale in the Bay of Saint Michel, the Tsarskaya is a relatively new oyster variety bred by French oyster growers, Les Parcs St Kerber. (The oysters are named for Russian tsars that were big fans of Cancale oysters). Expect a full, meaty oyster with a hint of hazelnut flavour. Finally, there are the Irish Cunnigar Dungarvan oysters, produced in the nutrient-rich Dungarvan Bay on the west coast of Waterford County: another return-ticket between Europe and Thailand.