A four-day feast of the choicest seafood by the Ministry of Crab was held in Delhi recently, from January 11 to 14 at Delhi's Shangri-La Eros. Head chef, and the brains behind Sri Lanka's famous restaurant, Dharshan Munidasa, steered the show in the capital with a brilliant four-course spread. 

Starter and Second Course

The four-course meal started with a medium-sized avocado, filled with steamed and chilled crab meat with a mix of wasabi mayonnaise. The stunning salad was followed by the second course comprising a gorgeous large Lake Prawn cooked in an olive oil and Japanese soy sauce base with garlic and chilli flakes. The prawn was served with traditional Sri Lankan wood-fired Kade bread, which is usually served in cubes of 18. The way to eat that is up to you but sopping up the chilli garlic gravy with the bread cubes as you bite into the succulent pieces of fresh prawns is the best way to have it.

Main Course

There were technically two main courses that we were served. The first was an Indian Lagoon Crab made in a pepper-based gravy with hand-crushed peppercorns and pepper broth served with a bowl of Japanese sticky rice to eat with. The other dish was a Crab Biryani that was introduced as a special addition. Conceptualised by chef Munidasa during the peak of the lockdown, this Biryani was infused with the flavours of mud crab and accompanied by hand-ground Mint Sambal, a classic Malay pickle, and crab bisque. "Since our menu is not fit to be delivered and you have to come to experience it in the restaurant, the pandemic made us brainstorm about what could be something that we can deliver at our customer's doorstep," said Munidasa. "This is how the idea of the Crab Biryani came to be. It is still us, but we can pack it in a box."

Dessert

For the final course, a brilliant Cr&egraveme Br&ucircl&eacutee was served. The classic French dessert was made with a tropical twist by using rich coconut milk, baked to perfection inside a fresh coconut and the satisfying crunch of the burned sugar crackly top. 

Chef Munidasa added that since people living near the oceans can enjoy fresh seafood throughout the year, it's harder for seafood lovers in plains like Delhi. "We wanted to bring that experience to Delhiites and hope they had the best meal here." Ministry of Crab was opened in Sri Lanka in December 2011 by chef Munidasa in partnership with Sri Lankan cricket legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. It has branches in Mumbai, Manila, Chengdu, Shanghai, Bangkok and Maldives. Ministry of Crab has been on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list for eight consecutive years since 2015. 

"There is a huge community of seafood lovers in the capital," said Ramit Mittal, Executive Chairman and Director of Gourmet Investments, who are the India partners of the restaurant. "We are delighted to have partnered with Shangri-La Eros New Delhi to indulge our guests in this gastronomic seafood affair with the Ministry of Crab, which celebrates fresh seafood and serves only wild-caught crabs, strictly following a no-freezer policy." 

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