Preheat cooking oil over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and let them cook. Do not be tempted to crank up the heat. They will start to turn golden brown in about 2-3 minutes and started to get crispy. If they turn brown too quickly, your heat is too high. You need to remove the pan from the heat immediately. Once they turn golden brown, remove from the heat. Transfer to a glass jar along with the oil. This will keep pretty indefinitely
Cook the noodles:
Cook the noodles according to instruction on the package. I used spaghetti and cook it to al dente
Prepare the broth:
In a large pot, preheat cooking oil. Add ginger and stir fry until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add in the green onions, and garlic. Stir fry until the green onions just started to wilt and the garlic is lightly brown, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and saute until they turn pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside
Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and add the red dates. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. Add seasonings. It should be savory with just hint of sweetness from the dates. Add more salt if needed. Keep them warm on low heat while preparing the rest
Cook the lobster while the soup is simmering:
Preheat your broiler on low. Meanwhile, prepare the lobster tails. Place them on a cutting board, top side up. Use your finger to lift up the shell a little bit and use kitchen shears and cut through the middle of the shells. Gently pull apart the shell but leave them on. So the shells will be cut in half leaving the flesh intact. Pull out any black veins if you see one. Run your finger underneath the bottom shells, this will loosen up the flesh from the shells. Now leave the flesh up to rest on the shells (as shown in photos). Brush them generously with butter
Place them in the broiler and broil for about 8-10 minutes or less. I will not walk away from the oven if I were you. Keep a very close eye on it as you don't want to overcook the lobster tail. The shells will turn red and flesh will turn opaque and that's the sign that the lobster is done. Pull them out from the oven and transfer to a plate
When ready to serve:
Portion the noodles out into individual serving bowls. Bring the broth back to a boil. Place the shrimp in and cooked until they turn pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Place about 3-4 shrimp and one lobster tail into each bowl. Arrange about 2 oysters on each bowl and generously ladle the hot soup over the oyster and the noodles. If you want the oyster to be more cooked, you can submerge them in a boiling broth for few seconds
Garnish with chopped green onions and fresh cilantro leaves. Sprinkle in the crispy fried garlic with some drizzle of garlic oil. Serve immediately
Notes
If you can't find dried Chinese red dates, you may just omit. You may use goji berries (not as substitution because it's not the same) in the soup too. It's easier to get goji berries and I love using them in savory soup too. Just put goji berries at the end of cooking and let the residual heat soften the berries. Don't cook the goji berries for too long or they will turn sour.