Comments on: Sri Lankan High Cuisine (Ministry Of Crab)

By: lame

lame — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 08:56:52 +0000

2 large crabs, 6 prawns, pol sambol, bread(not free) & iced teas =14’000lkr / 110usd = happy customer = empty wallet. But better I spend my money to feed myself than watch johnston spend my tax money on a party of 10 that night.

By: sack

sack — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 05:42:20 +0000

Be very careful when eating local freshwater fish dishes.
Some fish like “korali”, “batta/batto”, “hunga” can live in absolutely polluted environment such as bere lake and other other waterways in Colombo. Some fish actually thrive on those places. And people do fish on those places.

But some like “loola (snake head fish)” can’t live on those places.

By: LB

LB — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:04:07 +0000

I have to wonder if people really don’t like these ‘posh’ establishments or whether they just hate the fact that it’s so expensive. Sri Lankan restaurants like MoC may not be perfect, but they are still quite value for money when you consider how much upper class establishments cost in other countries.

I keep hearing people complaining about malupaan in BreadTalk being very expensive. The problem with this observation is that you’re not supposed to be going to BreadTalk to eat malupaan. You should go there to try other things that you don’t find in your local bakery. Like the fire floss buns, cream buns. It’s a different flavour made for special occasions, not necessarily for everyday consumption.

TL;DR So please stop comparing the more upper class establishments to ordinary bath kades and bakeries. These fancy places are for fancy food, and obviously it’s going to be expensive. If you don’t want fancy food, don’t go there.

Mind you, prices here are still cheaper than in other countries, and the food isn’t bad at all.

By: Lalith de silva

Lalith de silva — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:55:39 +0000

The crab dish that we ate was not very Sri lankan. I like the local crab curry with”murunga kola” & was not in the menu. I did not find “Ros pan” or polsambol in the menu. we went there in December 2011 and I wonder these are recent additions to the menu. The price was 10star!( 2 X 5 star).

By: Carasek

Carasek — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:46:31 +0000

I think Savan’s point is the best: that of all the restaurants in Colombo, most (if not all) can be bettered elsewhere worldwide within the genre, but MOC takes some beating.

That said, it’s a very cheap to run, long-tables-shared-seating affair that may not be to everyone’s taste. When I went they couldn’t offer a side order of bread and the service wasn’t up to the prices. But the crab was good, which is the reason I went there.

By: Lost

Lost — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 10:29:34 +0000

Dunhinda in Attidiya you mean?

By: hmm

hmm — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:37:44 +0000

A number of people have been food poisoned after eating there over the past 2/3 weeks!

By: sharanga

sharanga — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:09:47 +0000

The MOC targets the top end of Colombo society only and surely that is a shame.

Why?

By: Ankie

Ankie — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:49:05 +0000

I must go. BUT I have heard their prices do not justify the food. I guess I’ll make my own decision on that when I do go. I’m still a bit sceptical – if you want authentic go authentic, newspaper napkins included. That’s Sri Lanka. The MOC targets the top end of Colombo society only and surely that is a shame.

By: Sachi

Sachi — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:23:20 +0000

I hear what you say about Nuga gama but the food there is really authentic. I loved it.