Another scrumptious edition of Crab Club returns this August to Hotal Colombo as Chef Gisela Alesbrook joins forces with Chef Teya Mikhael, of Maison Libanaise, for a vibrant, seafood-centric feast. With a shared love for long summer days spent on sandy beaches and unhurried dinners set at dusk, they have crafted a menu bursting with flavour and laden with the tender and sweet meat of one snappy headliner, showcased in a myriad of preparations.  

For the fourth collaboration in her Crab Club: Chef’s Edition series Chef Gizzy was inspired by fond memories of joyful summer holidays. “During Sinhalese New Year and Vasak, vacation time was always a bit longer, so my friends and I would get together, hire a bungalow and spend a few days by the beach – simply swimming and playing tap rugger. Every day, we would get up early in the mornings and go down to the market, gathering the freshest seafood for a night barbeque.”  

On August 9 & 10, you can enjoy a menu overflowing with flavour and bright colours that invoke memories of summertime spent basking on sandy beaches and warm water waves crashing against the shore. Begin by tucking into ‘snacks’ like whole-baked artichoke dressed in freshly cut chillies and served dressed with a garlicky lemon sauce ideal for dipping and a creamy crab and chive hummus perfectly scooped with house-made paratha.  A thinly sliced purple cabbage salad is tossed with honey and lemon and pairs perfectly with Chef Teya’s batata harrah, or spicy Lebanese potatoes buried underneath a layer of crispy crab crumbs and a side of hummus.

Moving on to the main event, Seafood Galore is a glorious seafood-centric platter crafted by the chefs. Combining Chef Teya’s love for grilling and Chef Gizzy’s penchant for spice comes the showstopping whole crab, grilled to perfection and served with coriander and chilli. To cut through the rich and meaty flavour of the crab, Chef Gizzy brings one of her favourite small bites, crispy sardines simply served with a lemon wedge and whose light and salty taste perfectly balances the mud crab. The entire feast is rounded out with a prawn pilaf and mussels and clams covered in a garlicky butter sauce before ending on a semi-sweet note with a dessert that bridges both cultures, using watalappan, a coconut custard pudding wrapped with crispy filo pastry, finished with treacle sauce.

For Chef Teya, “In Lebanon, August is the busiest month of the year – the whole country is packed with people visiting home and embracing the warmth of the sunshine. Where after a long leisurely day at the beach, you gather around a table brimming with beautiful freshly caught seafood. These dinners are often filled with family and friends you have been missing and full of stories about how life has been. I hope to bring that same warmth and familial feeling to the table with the menu Chef Gizzy and I have prepared.” 

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Join us for Crab Club: Chefs Edition by reserving your table here. 

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