Why Sri Lankan chef Dharshan Munidasa wants to experiment with Mumbai’s pomfret

When celebrated Sri Lankan chef Dharshan Munidasa opened the doors to ‘Ministry of Crab' in Mumbai three years ago, it turned out to be the perfect location for the seafood restaurant. Mumbai being a coastal city, it didn't take long for Mumbaikars to lap up the Khar-based restaurant's delicacies including pepper crab and chilli garlic crab. However, like many others, what he didn't anticipate was the Covid-19 pandemic, which took the world by surprise and hit the hospitality industry hard. Now that things are back to normal, he is hopeful, especially since he owns 12 restaurants around the world.

Chef Munidasa was in the city to celebrate the third anniversary of Ministry of Crab recently. Mid-day Online interacted with the chef, who had launched this restaurant concept back in 2011 with Sri Lankan cricket legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Munidasa has 12 other restaurants to his credit, including the award-winning Nihonbashi and the Ministry of Crab's Indian outpost, which is under the Gourmet Investments Pvt Ltd franchise here.

Reacting to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, he says, "It's been a terrible time but I made sure that wherever in Sri Lanka, we did not retrench any staff. We kept them going as much as we could, to the extent we could, despite being closed. I think India also had a lot of challenges and hard times during the pandemic. I'm so happy to see things are back to normal on the streets and people are bustling and busy. I think the whole world's getting back on its feet. In Mumbai, things are now reopened and it's good to see amazing guests walk into the restaurant."

Connect with coastal flavours
Ask Munidasa if he thinks Mumbai has warmed up to Sri Lankan cuisine and he answers in the affirmative. In fact, he says it is the locals' love for crab that has made more people experiment with Sri Lankan cuisine and visit the restaurant. "They (Mumbaikars) know that the crab exists in Mumbai and coastal areas of India. And, I think everyone also knows how hard it is to get a good quality crab, the right size and meat content too. We are so happy to be able to find good quality crab in India," shares a happy Munidasa, who tells us that the crabs are sourced locally. It is especially true because Ministry of Crab boasts of creating dishes out of crabs, inspired by the mud crab found in Sri Lanka and India. Interestingly, owing to his half-Japanese heritage, Munidasa says he uses Japanese cooking philosophies for Sri Lankan cuisine and it can be seen in the pepper crab dish, which he says, is dry in Singapore but sees a wet version using a dashi (sauce) made of black pepper, at the restaurant.

While the crab is certainly the star ingredient, the 53-year-old chef believes that the similarity in flavours also contributes to Sri Lankan food being more palatable for Indians. The restaurant, he says, uses spices that are common in this part of India and Sri Lanka and they even bake a Crème Brûlée in a coconut. "There is a difference between our curries and the Mumbai seafood curries as ours is lighter and spicy, but the base of flavours is probably around the same. The dash of coconut milk at the end I think would be different."

The fact that only in March, Ministry of Crab Colombo was ranked at 35 on Asia's top 50 best restaurants is a testament to the effort. Even though his restaurant is rated among the best, Munidasa exudes humility because he says that is not something on top of the team's mind as their diners are more important. "It is really nice to be on the list. It's exciting and an honor. At the same time, it's not something we pursue. It just happens as such. But more than that, the day-to-day guest's experience as they leave the restaurant with a full stomach, huge smiles and great comments about the restaurant is probably more important."

In March, Ministry of Crab in Colombo was ranked at 35 on Asia's top 50 best restaurants. Photo Courtesy: Ministry of Crab

Reinterpreting cuisines and Mumbai connect
As the restaurant experience becomes more and more important with each passing day, chefs are reinterpreting cuisines daily to give it a personal touch, something that has been gaining momentum over the years. However, one question often arises and that is how to stay true to the soul of the cuisine. For Munidasa, it is simple. He says, "All cuisines are a result of evolution. It never was like this 100 years ago, it kept on evolving." So, that is why he explains, "When chefs are reinterpreting, I think it's really, really important to keep the core values, the philosophies of that cuisine and the ingredients intact." Otherwise, he says, it doesn't become reinterpreting, "it just becomes a unique dish". "If you want to be progressing cuisine, a contemporary version of a traditionally-based cuisine recipe, I think the ingredients play a huge role in being connected to that," he adds.

Housing a restaurant in Mumbai only means that Munidasa has set his eyes upon the seafood here and, unsurprisingly, he has a favourite. "There is one fish that I find very difficult to find in Sri Lanka in abundance and that is the pomfret. It is an amazingly delicate fish, which I see a lot here and look forward to." So much is his love for the fish that whenever it is available in Sri Lanka, he serves it at his Japanese restaurant, Nihonbashi. "I haven't been able to use it in Ministry of Crab there due to the availability but maybe if I try experimenting with it, it will be this time in Mumbai," he adds.

Sri Lankan economic crisis
With the Sri Lankan economic crisis looming over the country, we ask what it has been like for citizens and entrepreneurs. "It's really unfortunate what Sri Lanka has gone through and going through," he says. While the issue is at the political and economic level, he tells us it hasn't affected the hospitality business and particularly his restaurant because it is all about local Sri Lankan cuisine. "We haven't had too many issues in terms of sourcing ingredients because of the economic crisis." Munidasa says the crisis hasn't really hit the local crab supply. He adds, however, that there is a need to find solutions at the macro level and hopes the country will go in that direction soon.

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