Chefs and restaurants serving our oysters

Storing oysters

Opening oysters without tears

Dexter Russell Oyster Knives

Nutritional value

Oysters and art

Moonlight Flat Oysters and wine

Locating our genuine brands

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but frankly we’re tired of paying our i.p. lawyers to pursue felons misappropriating our registered brand names.

Better to regularly update the tightly selected list of reputable restaurants and bistros who do pay for our quality hand-crafted product, and put you the oyster lover in a position to sift the wheat from the chaff.

Ask for our brands by name.

NSW and ACT

In Sydney at:

BAR H
80 Campbell Street, Surry Hills
Tel 02 9280 1980
www.barhsurryhills.com

The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, Ferry Road Glebe. Tel 02 9518 9011, www.boathouse.net.au

Claudes, 10 Oxford Street, Woollahra, Tel 02 9331 2325. www.claudes.com.au

Duke Bistro, 65 Flinders St Darlinghurst, Tel 02 9332 3180, www.dukebistro.com.au

Flying Fish Restaurant 22-32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont. Tel 9518 6677, www.flyingfish.com.au

Four in Hand Hotel Bistro  105 Sutherland St, Paddington. Tel 02 9362 1999, www.fourinhand.com.au

Ormeggio d'Albora Marinas, The Spit, Mosman. Tel 02 99694088. www.ormeggio.com.au

The Public Dining Room The Esplanade, Balmoral Beach, Mosman. Tel 02 9968 3433
www.publicdiningroom.com.au

In Orange:

Lolli Redini 48 Sale St, Orange. Tel 02 6361 7748, www.lolliredini.com.au

In Byron Bay at:

Rae's on Watego's, Watego's Beach, Tel 02 6685 5366, www.raes.com.au

Victoria

In Melbourne:

Albert Park Hotel Cnr Montague St and Dundas Pl, Albert Park. Tel 03 96905459. www.thealbertpark.com.au

Bistro Vue Normanby Chambers, (entrance via New Chancery Lane) 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, Tel 03 9691 3838, www.vuedemonde.com.au

Cafe Vue 401 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Tel 03 9866 8055, www.vuedemonde.com.au

Cumulus Inc 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Tel 03 9654 9545 www.cumulusinc.com.au

Cutler & Co 55 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Tel 03 9419 4888, www.cutlerandco.com.au

Golden Fields 157 Fitzroy St, St Kilda. Tel 03 9525 4488
www.goldenfields.com.au

Grossi Florentino 80 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Tel 03 9662 1811 www.grossiflorentino.com

Middle Park Hotel 102 Canterbury Road, Middle Park.
Tel 03 9690 1958 www.middleparkhotel.com.au

Newmarket Hotel 34 Inkerman Street, St Kilda. Tel 03 95342385

Pearl Restaurant and Bar 631-633 Church St, Richmond. Tel 03 9421 4599 www.pearlrestaurant.com.au

PM24 Bistro Rotisserie, Philippe Mouchel   24 Russell Street, Melbourne. Tel 03 9207 7424 www.pm24.com.au

Restaurant 35 Sofitel Hotel, 25 Collins Street, Melbourne. Tel 03 9653 7764 www.no35.com.au

Vue de Monde Level 55, Rialto, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne, Tel 03 9691 3888, www.vuedemonde.com.au

Wayside Inn, 446 City Road, South Melbourne 3205. Tel 03 9682 9119
www.waysideinn.com.au

Enjoying our oysters at home

Storing oysters
Oysters are live fish happy in their shell when shipped direct from us. Sydney rock oysters have a fantastic advantage over all other oyster species because their shelf life, under ideal conditions, can extend out to a couple of weeks. (Although we want you to consume them early, not shoot for the longest shelf record!).

The single biggest enemy of oysters in storage is the fan air in a normal fridge. It dries the sealant lip of the oyster forcing the animal to ‘give up’. The lid opens and it dies.

We recommend storing oysters almost in the same conditions you store your best red wine. Cool, dark, moist, windless conditions, for example a corner of the concrete floor in the garage. Best if you can find a damp hessian bag to cover them.

If storing in a restaurant cool room, keep them in a protective container away from the direct fan air, and with some dampened cellular material covering them. If storing angasi oysters stack them and keep a weight on them.

If you must keep closed oysters in the household fridge, wrap them in a thick damp newspaper to insulate them from the fan air. Consume within a couple of days.

The ideal temperature for keeping rock oysters is between 10 and 15 degrees. For angasi it’s a little lower at 5 to 8 degrees.  Be careful though not to subject the animals to wild variations in temperature in short periods, e.g. from the fridge to the BBQ bench on a hot humid day, then back to the fridge for the unused oysters. That’s a killer.

Oysters are great picnic takeaway food, what other product comes in its own individual pearl lined container?

Opening oysters without tears
Believe us it can be done, it’s all a matter of practice….after all, 60 million French people can’t be  wrong!

Step 1. Put that screwdriver back where it belongs in the toolbox and go purchase a decent oyster knife that will serve you the rest of your life.  No bones about it, the best we’ve come across around the globe is the Dexter-Russell 'New Haven' 2.5 inch with slightly bent tip. Works a treat on rock oysters.

Step 2. Dampen a kitchen towel and shape it into a little “nest” in which to cradle the oyster you are about to open. If you’re really sharp you might get your European friends to purchase a plastic kitchenware oyster cup—I found mine in Hong Kong.

Step 3. Place clean oyster in nest. Left hand over the nest with the beak towards you protruding between thumb and other fingers

Now here’s the family secret: with the tip of the knife flick the first couple of millimeters of the ‘false beak’ up and off, revealing the true hinge point between top and bottom lids. Voila! (See pic top right).

Gently but firmly wiggle the bent point of the tip of the blade into the visible hinge line. Be patient. The lid will pop. (See pic middle right).

Step 4. Gently slide the blade of the knife horizontally around to the other end of the oyster severing the thick muscle which holds the upper and lower shell together. If you have kept all this steady you will retain all the natural oyster juices. (See pic bottom right)

Should you accidentally break a few chips of shell into the oyster, don’t worry. Take a small pastry brush and gently brush them off the oyster. Between oysters, rinse your knife blade to clean off any grit.
[graphic]

If you feel you need a mesh glove, do not rush out and buy an expensive metal one. There’s a cheap Kevlar material glove sold in fishing shops for about $25. 

Like my piano teachers always said …practice.. practice.. practice .

Dexter-Russell Oyster Knives
You won’t be surprised to know that we have tried quite a few oyster knives over the years and we think we have found the perfect knife, the US-made Dexter-Russell ‘New Haven’, with a 70 mm blade and a slightly curved tip on the end of the blade. It is certainly the best knife we have tried for rock oysters and we recommend them to our restaurant customers.

Features:
- 70mm blade
- Angled tip to prevent RSI and wrist strain.
- Polypropylene, sanitary handles are high impact and slip resistant.
- Impervious sanitary seal between handle and blade.
- The blade is stain free, high carbon, hand ground and honed.
- Superb edge retention and sharpening characteristics.

We carry a small stock of these knives—if you would like to purchase one please email your address and credit card details or post your details and a cheque for $24 to Moonlight Flat Oysters, PO Box 778, Batemans Bay NSW 2536. Cost includes postage to anywhere in Australia.
 
Nutritional value
Moonlight Flat oysters are the result of our environmentally blessed estuary located at Batemans Bay in southern NSW, far removed from any contamination by urban, industrial or rural developments. They offer a well‑balanced nutritional package, rich in essential minerals and vitamins. Oysters are much lower in cholesterol than prawns or red meat, about the same level as fish. Before despatch to select client establishments, special care is given to regulatory preparation, hygiene and hand packing to ensure the integrity of the oyster.

Clair de Lune Sel Saveur®
Our oyster savoury salt is made in the style of traditional French sel saveur, comprising wholly natural ingredients of seaweed, Moonlight Flat Oysters™ and sea salt. READ MORE >


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