Ministry of Crab opens in Singapore

Sri Lanka’s foremost crab institution, ‘Ministry of Crab’ by chef-restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa together with Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara opened its first restaurant in Singapore on the 3rd of July.

Located in Dempsey Hill, the country’s premier lifestyle destination, the restaurant showcases the best of Sri Lanka’s mud crabs and freshwater prawns, in Ministry of Crab’s signature recipes prepared by carefully combining Sri Lankan ingredients with Japanese culinary philosophies, drawing from Dharshan’s dual Sri Lankan-Japanese heritage. 

The Singapore restaurant marks the brand’s sixth international outpost after Bangkok, Shanghai, Chengdu, Maldives and Mumbai as part of its mission to share the goodness of Sri Lankan crabs with the rest of the world. 

‘Singapore is the world's ‘Mud Crab Capital’, and our crabs have always been highly regarded here. The inception of Ministry of Crab dates back to a TV show I filmed in Singapore. Since then, we have always been eager to establish Ministry of Crab in Singapore, but factors such as timing, finding the right location, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays.

However, as the saying goes it’s never too late as we're thrilled to finally be here, plating up our original recipe Sri Lankan mud crab dishes’ said Dharshan.  

Ministry of Crab Singapore is housed in a standalone colonial building at Dempsey Hill, a tranquil hideaway lifestyle destination surrounded by lush greenery, gourmet grocers, art galleries, antique shops, highly acclaimed restaurants, cafés and wine bars.

Its architectural style is inspired by the flagship in Colombo, incorporating many elements from Sri Lanka such as the open kitchen, seafood display and the signature heliconia flower centrepieces, as well as designing and making all the dining tables and floor tiles of the restaurant in Sri Lanka.

The restaurant has a seating capacity of 68 inclusive of two private dining rooms.  

Ministry of Crab was built on the ethos of serving only the highest quality ingredients in their freshest form, and to reiterate this, the restaurant in Singapore will employ the same no-freezer policy, that has become a benchmark at Ministry of Crab Colombo. In ensuring freshness, all crabs are air-flown from Sri Lanka live three times a week, wild caught in small batches, sustainably obtained via the extensive network of fisherfolk who catch crabs around the island.

The mud crabs served range from the ½ Kilo Crab to the Crabzilla that weighs more than 2kg, while the giant freshwater prawns served range from 150g Small Prawn to the Prawnzilla that weighs more than 500g.  

The menu will feature the same iconic line-up of dishes as that of the Colombo flagship, including the signature Garlic Chilli Crab, Pepper Crab, Crab Liver Pâté and the Coconut Crème Brûlée, as well as signature Nihonbashi dishes namely, Crab Croquette and Shirunashi Ramen. Dharshan has even found a local bakery to recreate the signature Kade Bread exclusively for the restaurant.  

The brainchild of renowned chef-restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa, in partnership with Sri Lankan cricketing legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Ministry of Crab is located in the historic 400-year-old Dutch Hospital in the heart of Colombo. 

Mahela Jayawardene and Dharshan Munidasa at the opening of Ministry of Crab in Singapore

Restaurant exterior 

Restaurant interior