Ministry of Crab (Sri Lanka)

Ministry of Crab has been included in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2016. To round off our trip in Sri Lanka, we visited Ministry of Crab. Try getting reservations ahead of time. We were lucky that we went before the lunch crowd started streaming in and managed to get a table. 

Ministry of Crab was set up by former cricketers from the Sri Lankan cricket team and a celebrity chef. Their website is very interesting- which is rare for a restaurant's website. In their Constitution, they state things like "We are proud of the reputation sri lankan crabs enjoy in singapore- thank you singapore! But we're even prouder of bringing the finest institution in sri lanka dedicated to serving you the best of our crabs here in their home country."

Everything about this place felt polished- the location, the decor, the service etc.

We wanted to order a medium crab (up to 800g) only to realise that they did not have such crabs that day. We ordered a small crab (up to 700g) to share which was a little small for two people. On the menu, they had options like chilli crab, curry crab, baked crab and pepper crab etc.

Given that we usually eat chilli crab and pepper crab, we decided to try the Garlic Crab (Rs 4400- small). Needless to say, the crabs were incredibly fresh- the meat was so tender and moist and we concurred that it was better than the ones we ate in Singapore.

This is a wok fried crab and the sauce is a mixture of Italian olive oil, Japanese soy sauce and garlic. Initially, it tasted a little too salty. But after a while, it was incredibly addictive to soak the oil up with the Kade Bread (Rs 320). The garlic taste was just nice, without being too overpowering.

The kade was nicely toasted, with crispy sides and fluffy centres.

After eating the crab, it was a little anti-climatic to eat the Chicken Curry Rice (Rs 1520). We swapped the Japanese sticky rice for Kade bread to dip into the curry sauce. It did not elicit the same kind of joy when dipping the bread into the garlic oil. The curry chicken was decent - it was slightly spicy and cooked well but a little underwhelming after eating the crab.

Ministry of Crab
Old Dutch Hospital, Colombo 01
Sri Lanka 00100 Colombo
Tel No: +94 11 2342722

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Lucky Fort Restaurant (Sri Lanka)

We were excited to try the food at Lucky Fort Restaurant- 950 rupees for 10 curries certainly sounded like quite a steal. The set is good for two. Plus there were plenty of good reviews for this restaurant. I also liked the greenery around the restaurant.

Many of the curries were pretty interesting, such as mango curry and pineapple curry- those were firsts for me.

However, while the food was decent, it was not as spectacular as others make it out to be. The curries seem a bit muted in flavours, although you can certainly ask them to make it spicy. They will also give you some sambal upon request.

While we overheard the next table saying that the mango curry was so "awesome", I couldn't really taste the mango as it was overwhelmed by the curry. The eggplant curry was pretty interesting- it was deep fried and sprinkled with sugar, making it an addictive snack.

A cheap meal with different kinds of curries, but not really worth the hype.

Lucky Fort Restaurant
No. 7 Parawa Street
Galle, Sri Lanka

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The Original Rocket Burger (Sri Lanka)

We are usually not burgers people but The Original Rocket Burger looked pretty enticing. 

The shop occupies two stories although the seating area at the second floor was rather small. 

There is a hipster vibe to this place with interesting posters around. I especially liked this: "Annoying the cook will result in smaller portions". 

I ordered the Shipwreck (900 Rs) which consisted of the catch of the day (mahi mahi), tamarind sauce, coleslaw, onions, ketchup and mustard. I have to say that ever since I had eaten Ferberger in New Zealand, all other burgers pale in comparison.

That said, the burger was decent and had a large piece of fish. The mahi mahi was a little dry for me but it might be due to the nature of the fish.

The Fries (Rs 200) were not greasy and had a slightly crispy skin.

If one had had too much curries, this might be a good break! 

The Original Rocket Burger
24 Pedlar Street
Galle Fort
Galle, Sri Lanka 

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