MoC celebrates the Big One
Ministry of Crab, a name now recognized not only within Sri Lanka,
but also internationally celebrated its one year anniversary on December
12.
Mahela, Dharshan and Kumar |
The restaurant, which launched with the Dutch Hospital Shopping
Precinct in early December last year, officially opened its doors to the
public on December 12, 2011. In the year since then the restaurant’s
success has exceeded even the expectations of its three co-owners,
Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, and Dharshan Munidasa and the fact
that it is already considering a range of franchise opportunities is
unprecedented.
Named the best restaurant in Colombo by Yamu.lk, MoC sets itself
apart in that it is not an imitation; it serves dishes that have no
better iterations anywhere else in the world. The first and only
restaurant in Sri Lanka dedicated to serving the best of Sri Lanka’s
export quality lagoon crabs, the Ministry of Crab serves them fresher
than they can be served anywhere else in the world.
With its daring no freezer policy the restaurants commitment to fresh
produce is well known, but what is perhaps less recognized is its
commitment to local produce.
Its signature Pepper Crab famously combines two ingredients endemic
to Sri Lanka including the salt. Dharshan Munidasa, co-owner, chef and
restaurateur explains that this inclination towards local produce is not
purely patriotism, but because they are lucky to have some of the best
fresh ingredients in the world at our disposal.
The restaurant’s commitment to showcasing the best of Sri Lanka
extends beyond its use of local produce. It is one of the few fine
dining restaurants in Colombo to serve local dishes. While its curry
dishes Crab curry, Clay pot prawn curry, and Chicken curry rice are all
excellent, it is the Pol Sambol which is scraped on order and the Kade
Bread, the perfect accompaniment for any of the crab dishes which have
proved the unexpected successes of this past year.
The other stand out items being the Chocolate Biscuit Pudding, the
only dessert on the menu, which uses dark Belgian Chocolate to elevate
this ubiquitous desert, and the Iced Tea Soda, an all-natural
preservative free alternative to traditional soft drinks, which is
unique to Ministry of Crab.
While there was speculation when the restaurant opened that the
involvement of Mahela and Kumar was merely to add PR punch, it has
become apparent over the past year that their involvement goes much
beyond this.
That being said, one of MoC’s greatest strengths has been in ensuring
that the crabs, not the cricketers are the stars of the restaurant.
Though the involvement of Mahela and Kumar was certainly a draw for the
international media in Colombo during the T20 with CNN, ESPN, NDTV, Gulf
News, and The Hindustan Times, doing features on the restaurant,
Ministry of Crab’s loyal following returns regularly, not for a glimpse
of the cricketers but for the inimitable dining experience. |