Ministry of Crab Meets Manila

This Asia’s 50 Best awardee finds its new address in Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila.

Sri Lanka’s sovereign seafood authority sets sail yet again and lands in the food scene of the Philippine capital, Manila.

Founded by culinary figure Dharshan Munidasa and cricket players Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, this restaurant has consistently landed on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants since its inception in 2015, with its most recent position at #25. It has also made its mark on the Asian food scene in Tokyo, Japan and most recently, Shanghai, China.

Locally, Ministry of Crab, Manila’s menu philosophy is not only heavily rooted in Filipino flavors, but also works with Filipino suppliers to source the crabs, prawns and most ingredients from around the country, especially from the Mindanao region.

The restaurant’s menu lays out the proportion sizes for both the crab and prawn, with the former ranging from the half-kilo crab to the two-kilogram, larger-than-life crab which is, as they say, is ‘bigger than your palm.’ The prawn also shines, ranging from the one-half dozen batch of black tiger prawns to the 600g Prawnzilla.

Guests can look forward to a library of flavors to enjoy the crab with, including guinataan (coconut milk and chilies) and pinakurat (spiced natural coconut vinegar). Filipino crab-based dishes such as crab sisig, lumpiang ubod with crab are available as well.

Ministry of Crab, Manila is also headlined by its beverage program, created by Shangri-La at the Fort’s Executive Mixologist, Ulysse Jouanneaud. He pays homage to Sri Lanka’s rich history through incorporating spices, cinnamon, and ginger, with the cocktails highly inspired by sea travel and the concept of paradise. Homemade ginger beer and distillates were especially created as well for this restaurant alone.

The experience is capped off with a special dessert menu, featuring a marriage of Filipino and Sri Lankan ingredients and flavors such as agar agar, kulfi, pistachio, rice and the Philippine mango.

With such a flavor-rich menu to whet a seafood fan’s palate, the restaurant has only this to say: ‘keep calm and crab on.’ Follow @ministryofcrab.manila on Facebook and Instagram and hashtag #MinistryOfCrabMNL and #KeepCalmAndCrabOn when posting.