Ministry of Crab pop-up at Atlantis Sanya on Hainan Island

Atlantis Sanya Vice President Food and Beverage Christian Albacar Fumado, Atlantis Sanya Executive Chef David Laval, Dharshan Munidasa with members of the media

Chef Dharshan Munidasa addressing the media at the press conference before the pop up

 Guests tasting Ministry of Crab's signature dishes

Making its way to the tropical city of Sanya situated on the Hainan Island of China, Ministry of Crab was stationed at the premium resort, Atlantis Sanya, for an exciting three-day pop-up from 28 February to 2 March. 

Ministry of Crab’s signature  Pepper Crab

Taking the Ministry of Crab experience beyond borders, Chef Dharshan Munidasa and his team put together a four-course dinner, which featured the restaurant’s signature dishes catering to over 200 diners. 

Owned by Fosun International and managed by Kerzner International, Atlantis Sanya is China’s premier ‘underwater world’ inspired entertainment resort destination located in Haitang Bay, Sanya, Hainan Province. 

Housing 1,314 guestrooms and suites, a waterpark and an aquarium; the resort also offers a wide range of dining options with 21 restaurants, lounges, bars, and cafes for its guests. A pop-up by Ministry of Crab, ranked No. 25 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants List 2018, marked the first international guest chef experience at the resort as part of its culinary strategy for 2019. 

The pop-up took place at Crab Kitchen, the only restaurant in Sanya that specialises in serving crabs of different sizes and varieties including the iconic Sri Lankan Crab. 

Taking over this colonial style restaurant for three nights, the Ministry of Crab team plated up some of their most well-known dishes which included the creamy and decadent crab liver pâté, the rich and savoury baked crab, the flavoursome garlic chilli prawn and the fiery pepper crab. Diners were able to sit through an exclusive dining extravaganza showcasing the fine flavours of the crustaceans coupled with bold Sri Lankan spices.

Renowned for his commitment in using only the freshest produce backed by his technique of using simple preparations to bring out the optimum flavour of each ingredient, chef-restaurateur Munidasa continues to showcase the best of Sri Lanka’s ingredients to the world. 

“It was an honour to be invited by Atlantis Sanya who themselves have an in-house crab restaurant which uses Sri Lankan crab,” said Munidasa. “We were able to stay true to our local ingredients by using Sri Lankan crabs, featuring our local spices and sharing this experience to our patrons in China. A special thank you goes out to the team at Atlantis Sanya for their continuous support towards making this event a great success.”