Sri Lanka's famed Ministry Of Crab has quite a following. Small wonder when it's been on Asia's 50 Best Restaurant list since 2015 (No.35 in 2019). It's fair to say, they take crab pretty seriously there. Indeed, Ministry of Crab has its own constitution with eight "amendments" paying homage to Sri Lanka's iconic lagoon crab.
Executive chef-patron Dharshan Munidasa and his partners, former Sri Lankan cricketers Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, share the same ethos: crabs are the stars of the show. Munidasa's heritage, half-Japanese and half-Sri Lankan, also has a significant influence on the menu at MoC.
All the seafood is imported from Sri Lanka every two or three days, depending on availability. The crabs arrive live. "Sustainability is a huge part of MoC and the crabs are wild caught. Baby crabs aren't used, and you won't find female crabs or crab roe on the menu," says general manager Jay Karunakaran. In fact, MoC doesn't serve crabs weighing less than 500g.
Every part of the crab is used, including the liver, which is removed during the steaming process. The crab liver pâté (20g for 390 baht) is served with Melba toast and kitul treacle (derived from the sap of Caryota urens, a plant native to Sri Lanka). This is an intense dish with a distinctive flavour that, I would say, isn't for everyone. However, the trickle of treacle works wonders with the pâté.
The baked crab (390 baht) is a sort of risotto, except that chef Munidasa uses Japanese sticky rice, to which he adds a hint of soy sauce to draw out the umami of the crab. This is one risotto dish where the meat outweighs the rice. Who doesn't love a generous portion of juicy crab? Though I would have liked a dash of lemon over it.
Interiors of Ministry of Crab Bangkok. Ministry of Crab Bangkok
The prawns are priced depending on size and prepared seven different ways. I recommend the half-pound prawn (around 650 baht), weighing around 250-300g, in the (rather rich) chilli sauce. Sri Lankan freshwater prawns are cooked in butter, extra virgin olive oil and chilli flakes to absorb the maximum amount of flavour.
It has a nice balance, the sauce does not overwhelm the prawn. This dish is best enjoyed with kade bread ("kade" means "shop" in Sinhala, and refers to a type of shop that makes rustic wood-fired bread), which is great for mopping up the curries and sauces at MoC. For added indulgence, slather the bread with butter, then dip it into the chilli sauce.
Enough of the sides, let's get onto the main event. The best-seller at MoC Asia-wide is the pepper crab. Black pepper is king among Sri Lankan spices. Once upon a time, all their curries were black… until red chillies were introduced.
The pepper crab is made using hand-crushed peppercorns, which are rolled on a traditional miris gala, whole peppercorns and pepper stock. It's the perfect infusion of two of the island nation's endemic ingredients, pepper and crab. It may seem like a whole lot of pepper, but the sauce isn't all that fiery, allowing you to fully enjoy the taste of the crab: juicy, succulent, with just a hint of spice in the throat.
Coconut crème brûlée. Ministry of Crab Bangkok
For me, however, the real star of the show is the colossal curry crab. Traditional Sri Lankan curry is made from unroasted spices, which gives it a milder flavour so as not to overpower the sweetness of the crab. Again, you can detect the Japanese techniques at play. Herbs like pandanus, lemongrass, moringa leaves or drumstick leaves as they are known as in South Asia, and curry leaves are added at the last minute and cooked over a slow flame for around 25 minutes. Once the curry develops its full flavour, it is finished off with a drizzle of thin coconut milk -- just a little, not too much.
It is a complex dish that excites the palate with every bite. And it's one you should really get stuck into. Mop up the curry with kade or spoon it straight into your mouth, as I did. It will be the best thing you've eaten this year!
How does one finish off a meal so delicious? Coconut crème brûlée (250 baht), of course. Served in half a coconut shell, flesh intact, it is brûléed tableside, filling the air with the aroma of toasted coconut. I would have liked a bit more wobble with mine, however.
It won't come as any surprise to learn that a meal here is expensive. It's around 1,800 baht for an 800g medium-sized crab, 3,600 baht for a 1.1kg jumbo, to 8,000 baht for their 2kg Crabzilla. What makes the experience special is the perfect marriage of Sri Lankan flavours and Japanese culinary philosophies.
A few tips: leave your dining etiquette and table manners at the door. Wear a bib and ditch the cutlery and crab paraphernalia. Eat with your hands. Don't be afraid to get down and dirty. Lick your fingers, too. It's the best way to enjoy crab.
Head chef Harsha Madhuranga in action.
Garlic chilli prawn. Ministry of Crab Bangkok
