Ministry of Crab conducts pop-up event at Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort

400 Diners over the course of 5 days

Guests enjoying the experience

Dharshan Munidasa talks to guests at the Ministry of Crab Pop Up at Anantara 

The Palm Dubai Resort

 Guests Enjoying the Garlic Chilli Prawn

Making their way to world-famous Palm Jumeirah just off the coast of Dubai, Dharshan Munidasa and his team from Ministry of Crab conducted a five-night pop-up event at the stunning Anantara The Palm

Chef Dharshan Munidasa with the Pepper Crab

Chef Dharshan with the live crab

Dubai Resort from the 3-7 November. With 400 metres of private shoreline and expansive views of the Arabian Gulf, Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort is also home to the UAE’s only over water villas.

The unique dining experience was hosted at the hotel’s poolside, where the team recreated the Ministry of Crab atmosphere with its signature orange décor and crab insignia. Diners were able to enjoy the cool November evenings accompanied by live music and amazing views of the ocean. The event was also attended by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the UAE Malraj De Silva and Consul General of Sri Lanka in Dubai & Northern Emirates Nalinda Wijerathna. 

Catering to over 400 guests, Dharshan and his team put together a five-course menu of Ministry of Crab signature dishes. Diners enjoyed two appetisers, the decadent Crab Liver Pâté and the rich, savoury Baked Crab. Following this was the much-loved Garlic Chilli Prawn, offering a fusion of flavour with an artful combination of Mediterranean and Japanese food philosophies. The main course for the evening was the fiery Pepper Crab made with hand-crushed Black Pepper and Pepper Dashi to spice up the night. Closing out each evening was the Coconut Crème Brûlée, a tropical take on the classic French Dessert.  

Renowned for his commitment to 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 and this pop-up was special as all the crabs and prawns were flown in from Sri Lanka. “Integrity of ingredients is one our core philosophies,” said Dharshan. “And it is important for us to ensure that our crab and prawns are in the freshest and most pristine condition for our guests, which is why this time around we executed five flights for the five dinners to ensure that the best quality Mud Crab and Freshwater Prawn from Sri Lanka was plated up at Anantara The Palm Dubai.” Diners were amazed with the Colossal Mud Crab weighing in at over 1.5 kg each and the giant Freshwater Prawns at 250 g per piece, the likes of which had not been seen, in these quantities and sizes, in Dubai until now. 

Reflecting on the event Dharshan stated: “I was delighted to bring Ministry of Crab to Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort and share our amazing Sri Lankan seafood with the diners of Dubai. The feedback was fantastic, we were sold out all five nights and it gives us hope that there is a market for our restaurant out there. I also have to thank the team at Anantara The Palm Dubai for their immense support towards making this event a great success.”