A pop-up menu by famed lankan chef Dharshan Munidasa has Delhiites queuing up for reservations and slots at Shangri-la
In a world where food is becoming an obsession with each meal being instagrammed on social media by youngsters and food Manga becoming a rage, it is not surprising to see people trying cuisines from various continents and chefs incorporating ingredients of different cultures and traditions to provide delicacies which leave the guests asking for more. Chef Dharshan Munidasa, he of the seafood fame, played magician with two star ingredients — tuna and crab —over the weekend. Part Japanese, he combined the best of Oriental traditions.
With expansive interiors and lavish indoor seating, the Shang Palace at Shangri-la offers the most authentic Sichuan, Cantonese and Yunnan cuisines. For the luncheon, the invitees were seated in one of the private dining rooms. And then Munidasa began recounting tales of his voyages and how crab came to be one of the versatile seafood dishes around the globe. He gave an overview before every course about where the food came from, the type of prawns and crab served, the highlight of each dish and how it made its way into the plate.
The chef has managed to infuse his renditions with his strong Japanese identity. He achieved it with formal techniques and breaking down ingredients to basics. From creating original dishes to sourcing ingredients, Chef Dharshan’s hands-on involvement and his meticulous attention to detail has ensured the consistently high standards of his restaurants. “My belief is if you believe in something, you need to serve it. You will be nowhere if you keep changing the menu to accommodate everyone,” says chef Dharshan.
Touted as the father of Sri lankan fine dining scene, Munidasa has been featured on the prestigious Asia’s Top 50 list with two of his Colombo restaurants, Nihonbashi and Ministry of Crab. The last was opened in 2011, in partnership with Sri lankan cricket legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. located in the 400-year-old Dutch precinct, it has established itself on every traveller’s to-do list.
The first course comprised king Prawn Bisque, where it perched precariously on a toothpick in the bowl. Admittedly, it was one of the biggest prawns I had come across till date.The hearty broth had the fresh flavour of Sri lanka’s remarkable lake prawns and a combination of local spices. The succulence of the tender prawn meat complemented the seasoning. The classic bisque had infused flavours with undertones of chilli. Its scrumptious taste went a notch higher when bread was dipped into the bisque.
The garlic chilli King prawn was cooked in Italian olive oil, Japanese soy sauce, garlic and chilli flakes.This fresh water prawn is a definite must try with its hints of sweetness and moist texture submerged in the flavour of the sauce. The trick to really enjoy this dish is to dip freshly baked bread into the golden sauce.
A colossal size crab in black pepper was the last course of the afternoon. The dish was made using hand crushed peppercorns, considered as the king of spice in Sri lanka. Apparently, all the curries in Sri lanka used to be black as red chilli was not native to the region. Whole peppercorns and pepper stock were the two ingredients fused to create an unforgettable dish. The flavour was powerful complementing the sweet crab. Salt was not added to the dish at all. It felt like a sin to waste even a drop of the decadent sauce.The guests got their hands dirty trying to pull out the meat from the crab’s shell. Wearing an apron that said ‘keep calm and crab on’, the experience of eating was unlike anything.The chef taught each of the guests how to extract the meat. But I liked the water bowl served to clean hands, a concoction made with tea and flowers. The flowers rendered a fragrance to keep the hands smelling fresh and the tea with antiseptic properties removed the oil.
With the vision to take the Sri lankan restaurant industry to new heights, and to give importance to the quality of the food as opposed to churning out just mediocre dish, Dharshan refuses to settle.