If you have visited Sri Lanka, it’s very likely that you travelled in and out of Colombo, and it’s probable that a trip to Ministry of Crab, the legendary seafood restaurant in the capital’s Old Dutch Hospital, was on your itinerary.
The restaurant is the brainchild of Sri Lankan chef and restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa, and former Sri Lankan cricketers Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. It is known for serving up enormous Sri Lankan crabs, dubbed “crabzillas”.
We would love to have a permanent Ministry of Crab restaurant in Dubai one day soon
Chef Dharshan Munidasa
But what makes Sri Lankan crab so special? “They grow into gigantic ‘crabzillas’, [that can weigh more than] 2 kilograms,” Munidasa told The National, ahead of the Ministry of Crab pop-up coming soon in Dubai.
“It is this size that made our crabs popular in the beginning. Today, it is difficult to find crabs that weigh more than 1kg [around the world], but in Sri Lanka, it is still possible. Our mud crabs come from the lagoons on the coastal belt of the country and are wild-caught, which, combined with the sweetness of the meat, makes it special,” he says.
Ministry of Crab is hosting a pop-up at Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort from Wednesday to Sunday, November 3 to 7, the brand’s first since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Munidasa says it will include headline hits from the Sri Lankan eatery’s menu.
“Ministry of Crab is invited to do pop-ups because of our classics,” Munidasa says. “The main challenge we face at these events is sourcing our amazing mud crab and freshwater prawns, as these key ingredients are what makes us who we are. If we deviate from the classics, we will not be giving the people what they want.
“The garlic chilli preparation method for both freshwater prawn and crab is our most unique and popular method of preparation, but our pepper crab is also up there, so we are serving both dishes at our pop-up in Dubai.”
Click through the gallery above to see dishes that will be served at the Ministry of Crab pop-up.
The five-day pop-up will be hosted poolside at the hotel in Palm Jumeirah, an area Munidasa says will be transformed “into a little piece of Ministry of Crab”. Diners will enjoy a five-course menu for Dh425 ($115), which includes crab liver pate to share, baked crab, as well Sri Lankan pepper crab, garlic chilli prawn, and coconut creme brulee for dessert.
There is no doubt that chef Munidasa is excited to share his dishes with a Dubai audience, saying that he is particularly keen to show off “the quality and the size of the crab we will be plating up”.
“Dubai has not seen crabs of this size, in this quantity ever,” he says. “We are so excited to show this aspect of Ministry of Crab, where knowing the provenance of an ingredient is our core philosophy … keeping that ingredient in its best condition throughout its journey from lagoon to plate.”
Regional crab is not on the menu for the pop-up. The chef explains that the team has organised “five shipments of ingredients for the five days”, which he hopes will provide the most “authentic Ministry of Crab experience”. The restaurant is known for its no-freezer policy, so it seems the same ethic will be applied here.
Past Ministry of Crab pop-ups have proven to be popular in the UAE, with events taking place at Abu Dhabi’s Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, and at the Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai, in April 2019. As well as the original Colombo location, the restaurant now has outposts in Shanghai, Manila, Mumbai, the Maldives and Bangkok – so is a Dubai Ministry of Crab a far-fetched dream?
“We have been working on this for some time,” says Munidasa. “We would love to have a permanent restaurant in Dubai one day and I hope that day will be soon!”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
