Boiled mud crabs in Lakeside Cafe near the Tweed River in Gold Coast. [Photo by Ou Shuyi/China Daily]

Festive feasts

Take-out Christmas

The crabs are much bigger than we expected - each the size of a dinner plate.

The chef cooks the crabs in two ways: One is boiled, the other is stir-fried with chili sauce. Personally, I prefer the boiled crabs, which have the original flavor of the seafood. Without any seasoning, the crabmeat is still distinctively sweet, succulent and tender.

The lunch of seafood at the Lakeside Cafe is only a prelude to our exploration of the Tweed River.

We spend the afternoon on a Catch a Crab cruise, feeding the friendly wild pelicans, fishing, catching mud crabs, visiting an oyster farm and taking in the beautiful landscape of the river. Obviously oysters are not the only blessed gifts of Mother Nature.