'Ministry of Crab' to crawl to India?

14 April 2013 12:41 pm

The two Sri Lankan cricketers -Mahela Jayawardane and Kumar Sangakkara-are toying with the idea of bringing their popular seafood restaurant, Ministry of Crab, to India, Jayawardene has said.

 "Kumar and I have been looking forward to it and, maybe, we will bring it here (New Delhi) one day as opportunities are there," he told ET over the phone. Jayawardene is in New Delhi, captaining the city team Delhi Daredevils in the two-month long Indian Premier League.

The cricketers opened Ministry of Crab last year in partnership with renowned Sri Lankan chef Darshan Munidasa who runs a chain of Japanese restaurants, 'Nihonbashi', in Colombo.

Jayawardene, however, said Ministry of Crab, which only uses export-grade lagoon crabs and has proved a hit in Colombo, needs to consolidate its operations before foraying into India. If it clicks in India, then the two Sri Lankan cricketers would be outdoing their Indian counterparts Tendulkar and Sehwag who both have seen their culinary venture bomb.

A restaurant chain called Tendulkar's, co-promoted by India's greatest cricket icon, has been closed after poor response. "We closed it in 2009 as it wasn't doing well," says Ravi Deol, chairman of hospitality fund India Hospitality Corp that acquired Tendulkar's original partner Mar Hotels and Restaurants. (Economic Times)