It’s a ministry where your requests will get heard, served and where you will want to spend hours. This is the Ministry of Crab (MoC), Colombo’s celebrated restaurant known as much for its crustacean preparations as its celebrity cricket owners. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara together with chef Dharshan Munidasa opened MoC in the Dutch Hospital Complex in Colombo. Their crab preparations became an instant hit, attracting celebrities and awards in equal measure.
The restaurant arrives in Mumbai, courtesy Gourmet Investments Pvt. Ltd, after months of planning, permissions and the hunt for the perfect place. The place in question is the 6,000-square-foot Zaveri House in Khar. The new Ministry has three floors: a bar area with separate food menu of bar nibbles, the main restaurant area with an outdoor patio and a private dining room in the basement. The interiors by Ayaz Basrai play up the space – sunlight streams in through huge windows, and long ceiling fans to provide a decorative touch. The upstairs, reached by a winding staircase, has dimmer lighting with a low panelled roof and lavish gold seating.
Crustacean heaven
Size clearly matters at MoC, specifically, the size of the mud crab you intend to eat. There are ten options, starting with a half kilo (₹1,995) and going up to a two-kilogram Crabzilla (₹14, 395). These are listed on a big board with crab shells hiding light bulbs – if stock runs out, a bell is rung and the corresponding light goes off. Once you select a size, there are six preparations to choose from: pepper, chilli, curry, garlic chili, garlic, and butter. Munidasa was very particular about the seafood, preferring to source it from the southern of India rather than importing it from abroad. “It’s best to serve a country’s produce in the country itself. It will be expensive because we are serving a quality product,” he says. The crab at our table of three is the Kilo Crab (above 1kg, ₹5995) prepared in the signature garlic chilli ‘sauce’. It comes nestled on a thin layer of rice and swimming in olive oil. The only way to do it justice is by abandoning the crab knife and mallet and using our hands and teeth to break in. Every crack reveals tender white meat, fresh but without the sweetness of the crabmeat we are used to in Mumbai. We prefer the crab in the Kani Chahan (₹695), a comforting Japanese styled fried rice.
The prawns on offer also come in different sizes, seven in all (₹825 to ₹995) and preparations. Our Claypot Prawn Curry (₹1,695) comes in is a deep vessel that doesn’t quite hide the half kilo prawns inside, some bigger than our hands. The delicate bisque accompanying it is aromatic and has the slightest hint of coconut and onions. We mop it up with the typical Sri Lankan wood-fried Kade bread (₹295). It is doughy and has a thick crust. We prefer the Garlic Bread (₹225), thick slices of the bread soaked in butter and grilled.
Tweaking the offering
“We haven’t changed the menus much from the original,” says Munidasa. “There are a few local dishes and crab preparations familiar to the place.” One such ‘local’ preparation is a Goan Curry (₹695), which piques the interest of the two Goans on the table. The dish is misleading because as we sift through the baby eggplant and button mushrooms, we realise that despite its tangy notes (courtesy coconut vinegar), this isn’t Goan at all. The look and the feel is distinctly south Indian, and there’s a fair amount of mustard seeds added in.
Another change is the addition of a vegetarian menu. Though a small list with curries, sides and rice. Of note is the Wok Tossed Greens (₹575), which has just enough of soy and sesame to add some spunk to the bok choy, asparagus and other fresh greens. The menu has a few seer fish preparations, and pol sambol for those seeking Sri Lankan fare.
The desserts are heavy on chocolate. A light and creamy Bitter Chocolate Ice cream (₹325) contrasts with Story of Cacao (₹495), a bitter chocolate mousse shaped like a cacao nib on a bed of chocolate soil. There’s chilli in the soil and an airy coconut gel to cut through the richness of the chocolate.
Test of time
Does MoC match up to the original? Comparisons are inevitable especially since the build-up to this Mumbai launch was extensive. The original has excellent service, stunning seafood and character. Mumbai’s Khar area doesn’t match up to the Old Dutch Hospital Complex and the space lacks the warmth of the original. The quality is the same but the experience is different and the price, quite premium. It remains to be seen where this Ministry will fit in a city that offers diverse seafood dining experiences.
Ministry of Crab, Zaveri House, Khar West; phone 7710898811
