The 17th World Gourmet Festival kicked start yesterday at Anantara Siam Hotel, and will be running until 25 September. Some of the world’s renowned celebrity and Michelin-star chefs take turns to deliver some of their signature delights for Bangkok diners to have a closer glimpse of Michelin-star flavors. Yesterday, we were at Anantara Siam with chef Dharshan Munidara, the chef/founder of Sri Lanka’s notable restaurants, Nihonbashi and Ministry of Crab.
The half Japanese half Sri Lankan chef excels in bridging the flavors of the two cultures with his self-taught cooking technique. Both of his restaurants make the list of Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants (with Ministry of Crab and Nihonbashi ranked 25th and 47th respectively this year). The experience of freshest umami taste is guaranteed as his restaurants employ no-freezer policy which means all high-quality ingredients are delivered fresh every day.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see a lot of cooking because most of his recipes take a few hours to cook. But we got to see how his signature Baked Crab, one of the highlights at Crab Ministry, was prepared before being cooked in the oven. Along with olive oil, garlic, Sri Lanka spices and breadcrumbs, the secret ingredients that make the dish stand out are soy sauce and Japanese rice that bring South and East Asian flavors together.
You can get a taste of Dharshan’s cooking for two nights at Spice Market restaurant in Anantara Siam (19-20 September). The course menu will take you through the culinary journey from Japan to Sri Lanka with the dishes like Garlic Chili Fresh Water Prawn (the signature dish at Ministry of Crab that features giant prawn cooked with Sri Lankan chili flakes and Japanese soy sauce) and charcoal-grilled Foie Gras with rice teriyaki. The price is B5,000 and reservation is required.
