It's midnight and maybe you've just finished another long day at the office or perhaps you're sick of watching ER re-runs and would rather venture out for a late-night snack. Then again, maybe you're just hankering for another plate of what's been the hottest selling dish on the local dai pai dong scene - oysters.

As you ramble through the city's sweaty back-alleys and neon-lit streets you stumble on Beijing Nan Lu, where the oyster fest is just heating up. Vendors display their steaming woks brimming with noodles, nuts and snails as waiters set up card tables and plastic stools on the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, clusters of nocturnal noshers are beginning to form in the far corner of a restaurant where a worker furiously works his pocketknife through mounds of oysters. He knows they're here to get their fill of this freshly shucked shellfish.

Oysters are the snack of choice at these after-hours haunts. The trend started in Hong Kong and snaked its way to the bustling streets of Guangzhou, mostly by word of mouth. This eating fashion is gaining a steady stream of followers, but for different reasons.

 "I heard on Hong Kong TV that oysters are high in protein, so they're supposed to make a man hotter for his woman," says Lee Qi, a 30-year old denizen dining with a female companion. He is referring to the age-old idea that oysters are fail-proof aphrodisiacs (a fact not proven by science but claimed by various cultures). "I don't know if it's true," Lee says laughing, "But I tired them and like the taste, so now I can eat one or two dozen by myself."

Others find appeal in the oyster's knarled, rugged appearance. "I like them because they're dirty and delicious," says Andes Li, who likes to toss down a few dozen with his buddies after bar hopping. It seemed everyone he knew was eating this unattractive seafood, so he wanted to find out what all the fuss was about.

These half-shell treats, which hail from Zhan Jiang and Zhuhai are available fully roasted or barely cooked, with freshly chopped garlic and chili sauce. They're served at many local dai pai dongs, including sites on Xia Du Road, Shan Xia Jiu, and of course Bar Street in Fang Cun. Half a dozen oysters run from about RMB 15 and a full dozen RMB 30. They're cheap and popular enough to attract a wide range of consumers.

Quiet couples share a small plate. Exhausted workers and marathon shoppers crowd around a sizzling pan. Teens who look like they just rolled out of bed rendezvous with friends for their midnight munchies fix. The slurping and shucking of Guangzhou's newest fashionable food will continue until the sun comes up.

Editor: Wings