The Lankan Crabs — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

3rd visit October 2022 Negombo crab M: crab was meaty and big but gravy was bit watery and salty Garlic butter prawn: Tasted good Chicken briyani: Tasted good Squid varuval: Spicy and nice Mutton bone marrow: Taste good Fish head curry: Too tough dry and very little meat on head so not worth Watalapam: Too sweet

Service staff was too slow and not efficient this time. Had to ask so many times for water refill, fork and spoon, small side plates, apron, plastic gloves etc. My guest also all had the same impression on the staff efficiency. We had a bit of trouble with the fish head where the spoon given was too large to dig out the meat, so we asked for a fork and spoon but the waiter took so long like 15 minutes to get it. The waiter also hesitated to help and insisted the flesh is "easy to dig out" then just walked off pretending to be busy while we are still struggling. Maybe some staff are stubborn and need retraining in their communication and service skills as their attitude can be off putting. 2nd visit 20/7/22 The service from Nipuni is awesome, friendly and very competent. Mutton Bone Marrow flavour was great but was a little bit tough and not as tender as the first time i ate. Tasted great still. Ordered Negombo XXL Crab but found the crab to be not as fresh because the flesh was very mushy and hardly much meat in the claw for XXL as it has shrunked. Also the shell could have been cleaned more thoroughly. Some pieces in chicken briyani was a little undercooked but they replaced it for us. Squid varuval was tasty but abit tough.

Overall a delicious meal just that it would have been a 100% if the crab flesh were fresher and not mushy. Masala tea is tasty. Tools and plastic gloves were provided when requested👍🏻 1st visit Negombo Crabs M, Mutton bone marrow, Jaffna prawns and Chicken briyani. The food was excellent, flavourful and all were big portions with lots of gravy. Crabs M size was quite big and meaty, moist, sweet meat and not overcooked. Dessert was a delicious Watalappam. Drinks was cold Sri Lankan milk tea which i found to be just mild in taste.

Here are some little notes and feedback to improve on. The service from our waiter was friendly but at times he was a little bit blur. I asked for cold milk tea but he brought a hot one. When I mentioned my order is cold milk tea he gave me a blank confused look and took it back only to have a different waiter bring me the same hot milk tea. Eventually they brought the right one. For the mutton bone marrow dish is there a long thin tool you can provide for customers so we can dig out the marrow? It is difficult to get to the inside of it unless there is some long thin knife/ tool to dig it out. The waiter suggested using the fork but honestly regular fork and spoon won't be able to fit inside the bone. Can I also suggest providing plastic gloves for customers who ordered the crab dishes so we can eat better without having to dirty our hands?

Overall a very good dining experience and will...

** This is an update to my review. Lankan Crabs did indeed get in touch with me as they mentioned in their response to my review which showed their sincerity in wanting to make things right. We discussed the issue and we accepted their offer to right the wrong.

I was not asked to make changes to my original review but I felt it necessary to add to my review to say their customer service is to be applauded. I would rate them 5 stars for customer service. However, since this review is for the food, I will have to maintain it as 1 star for the experience we had.

Thank you, Lankan Crabs for getting in touch and I would like to wish you the very best in your business. Take care and stay safe. **

We decided to give Lankan Crabs a try on September 3, 2021 after noticing the good reviews. We ordered their Negombo Curry Crab Promo Set 2 which comes with 4 Cutlets (chicken or fish - the person who took my Whatsapp order didn't ask me which I preferred and sent me the chicken), Briyani Rice (2 pax), Cucumber Raita (1 set), and Watalappam (1pc).

We had asked for delivery to be at 7:30pm but delivery arrived at 6:53pm. Just a note, earlier doesn't mean better. When the customer asks for delivery at a certain time, a 10 min give or take is acceptable but not 30 mins.

When we opened the packaging, I looked for the Watalappam specifically as I wanted to put it in the fridge since it's a dessert but it was no where to be found. I checked with Lankan Crabs and was told that they must have forgotten to send it with my order and offered to send it over. The Watalappam arrived an hour later. They sent 2 instead of 1, which was appreciated. Thank you.

The most disappointing dish was the Negombo Curry Crab. We had opted for an upgrade to the XXL because we were told we would now be getting 2 whole crabs weighing 600g each (instead of a size M crab weighing 400g each) for an extra RM50. What we found were 5 pinchers which was odd as 2 crabs should only have 4 pinchers. One of the pinchers wasn't fresh. Then we found loose legs in the curry which didn't come from the crab bodies. When I bit into one of these legs, the most foul taste of rotting crab meat filled my mouth. The smell was horrific too.

While most of the crab meat were fresh, those random pieces thrown in, perhaps to make the XXL weight spoiled the entire experience. I have never tasted anything so foul and I still can't get the taste out.

For the price paid for this meal (RM220), to say we are bitterly disappointed would be an understatement.

While most people have had good experience with Lankan Crabs, we can't say we experienced the same. My hope is that Lankan Crabs look into maintaining the quality of their food. If you have crabs that died a day or two earlier, DISCARD THEM. Money is important but reputation, once lost, is gone forever.

As for us, this would be our first and last time ordering from...

After seeing so many advertisements on the social media about this restaurant, I decided to contact them on FB Messenger to find out more about their food. Sean from the restaurant replied and also sent me their menu. I decided to give them a try, and placed my order for dinner delivery. This was what went wrong:

(1) when I placed the order, I specifically asked for delivery at 7:30pm. however when I received the invoice I noted that the delivery time was set ay 6:45pm, which I thought fine, I will make sure I get home earlier to receive the delivery. At 5:22pm, I received a call from the restaurant asking whether it is ok for them to deliver the food then. Of course it is not ok, if you can’t commit to the time, then you should have said so when order was placed. The reason given was the restaurant gets busy around 8pm. Seriously, if you are doing food delivery, you should have planned this out before offering such service. At the end, I had to rush home from work in order to receive the delivery at 6:30pm. (2) when the food was delivered, I noticed that sauce was spilled/leaked from the containers. The restaurant uses flimsy containers which is not sealed to hold food like wattalappam (which according to Sean is similar to crème brulee, and it has sauce), and squid varuval. Sauce and oil were everywhere in the plastic bags. If you have been to The Lankan Crabs, you would have noticed that the food is not exactly cheap. With that kind of pricing which they are charging, I would expect some thought would have gone into the packaging and better containers would be used. (3) I also ordered their chicken briyani. When I took the first bite, I thought I could taste mutton. Then my friend found pieces of red meat in the chicken briyani. The first question which crossed my mind was “Did they mix leftover mutton briyani into the chicken briyani I ordered?”

I immediately texted the restaurant using the same FB Messenger which I used to communicate with Sean and placed my order. I raised my dissatisfaction with the packaging and spillage, and also seek clarification on whether the chicken briyani contained meat other than chicken, as my friend is allergic to mutton. It has been near to 24 hours, and there was no reply from the Lankan Crabs whatsoever.

I am totally disappointed with the Lankan Crabs. It does feel like “once I have received your payment, you are no longer my problem.” Food wise, both the chicken briyani and squid varuval were too salty to our liking. Needless to say, I will never order from them again, neither will any...