PUBLISHED August 29th, 2013 02:18 am | UPDATED June 1st, 2016 01:09 pm
A dining in the dark concept restaurant you say?
I’m not going to lie, before going, I though the idea sounded pretentious, overdone and very, very gimmicky. It’s been done in various cities around the world and it’s somewhat of a trend/fad… It was bound to come to Singapore…
HOWEVER! After having spent a wonderful, hilarious and, rather tasty, treat-filled evening, I’m not embarrassed to swallow my pride and admit that in fact… I totally loved it.
My initial impression was to the contrary however…The bar on ground level is honestly a little soulless, and the cocktail I have was dire. Granted I’m a little pre-disposed to more classic, stiff, slightly bitter cocktails, but this was apparently one of the less sweet ones and still tasted mainly of simple syrup with some passion fruit pounded it. Disappointing. The wine list, while extensive is very, very pricey. Sigh.
There onwards however, it was only uphill. From the bar, your sight-impaired server and guide for the evening (Salimi in our case) leads you into the literary darkness for your meal… The identity of which you will not discover until you return to the light afterwards.
Going to the restaurant upstairs is where the fun starts and the sensory adventure begins. Forming a small conga line, our group was lead up the steps and progressively into darkness… And when I say darkness, I mean pitch black…. You’re even given a locker before you go upstairs to deposit your phone, watch or anything else that could shine a light… You will find yourself in total, utter blackness. I genuinely couldn’t even see my hand 2 inches from my face.
I won’t reveal much about what we ate and how it’s served… I’ll have to ‘keep you in the dark’ on that one #sorryfortheterriblejokeIcouldn’tresist
What I will say is that the food was superb, every dish different with a range of mushrooms, seafood, meats and delicious desserts. It’s actually a shame you can’t see the plates as I’m sure they’d be pretty.
What makes dining here so fun is the experience itself…
Think about it this way… you’re in a room with maybe 20-30 other diners. Nobody can see each other. All you do is hear voices of your friends and the other diners at the tables around you. The best way to describe it is that every table is like a different radio station. It’s an environment where everyone loses their self-consciousness. You can’t even see what you’re eating…you know you’re eating like a barbarian, shovelling the food into your mouth with a fork or spoon to avoid spillage. You laugh with your dining companions as you attempt to guess identity of your dishes… And you certainly don’t feel bad laughing out loud when a diner at the table nearby tells the worst joke you’ve ever heard in your life!
Is it gimmicky? Yes… to an extent. However going to NOX is all about the company and the experience. The fact that Chef Desmond’s food was also excellent at every course more than accounts for more than one solid reason to return again. It’s a lot of fun, and I would highly recommend NOX to anyone with an open mind, looking for something a little bit….different.
Written by The City Nomad
On this occasion, the meal was compliments of Nox.