Dinner @ NOX - Dining in the Dark

This year darling had wanted to bring me for a special dinner for my birthday.

He keep mum till i pester him where we going.

Only till the very day, he mention that we going for dinner which is dining in the dark.

At first i still thought that it would just be a dim place, with less lighting, but sound romantic, so i feel alright to try it out.

When we reach NOX, we were welcome warmly by the people. I feel so comfortable and the place seems posh with high rise sofa back chair. Look more like a lounge than a dining place.

The reception area - Photo from NOX website

We were than been brief of this restaurant concepts, and we get to select the drinks menu. As this is our first time here, we just selected 3 mocktails pairing which is specially prepare by the bartender to go along with our, appetizer, mains and dessert.

Doesn't it sound adventures that dining at NOX, you will never no what you will be eating and drinking? We trust and leave everything to the chef and bartender.

While waiting for our dining table, we were been serve an amuse-bouche which meant to neutralize our taste bud.

Before we are been lead to the dining area, we are to put our belonging and any device that will generate light into a locker provided.

We were than introduce to Afiz ( i guess that how it spell) who is visually impaired to lead Alan and I to our seat. I was so scare as we were to walk up the stairs where i just had my hands tap on Alan shoulder while Alan hands on Afiz shoulder to lead us into a pitch of darkness. Even though Afiz say that it is safe to walk in larger steps, i still shuffle my way in. Worry that i will fall or knock onto something.

Finally i manage to get seated and wait for our food to be serve. While waiting, the darkness have really start to make me feel so unsecured, and i can feel my heart pumping faster and trying to catch my breath. Alan try to calm me by chatting with me, telling some lame jokes to distract me.

Soon Afiz return with a our first glass of mocktail for our appetizer, where he request for our hand to be hand over to us. Slowly i try to locate a nice location to place it on the table. And not long he request our hands off the table so that he could place our appetizer on our table.

For each course, there will be 4 different items place in a bowl. We were to start the food from 6 o'clock direction clockwise till 3o'clock direction. I was so excited when the food serve n start dunk in. Alan and I were trying to guess the food, i told him is slightly warm n mushy, but he say no, it should be cold. we keep argue and i try to feel around, then notice i had started off with 3 o'clock food. So i quickly drink more water to wash off the taste, so that i can enhance my taste bud to try the first dish. 

It was so fun that we keep guessing the food, trying to see who had a better instinct in taste.

And the most amazing things we ask each other, in such a dark place, are you dining with your eyes close or open?? We both had our eyes wide open throughout even is a pitch of darkness where we cant even see our hand. Maybe that is what a sighted person will do, trying hard at all times to see.

At the end of the dinner, we were lead back to the lounge area. I feel so much relieve to enjoy the brightness again. 

The service manager then approach us again to write down what we think we had ate just now for every course. It is really a tough guessing game.

But not bad, at least i can guess correctly 50% of the items i ate. the service manager nicely explain all the dishes and show us how the food look like when it is been serve. Ooops... i guess i had just keep using the fork n poke at the food, hopefully to pick up anything to my mouth.

Overall experience:

1) We definitely recommends to friends as this is a totally different experience you will never get.

2) Food and drinks is fantastic and i really miss it now

3) It is on a pricey side, but the food you get is of a high grade, eg. foie gras , blood orange, waygu beef, cod fish etc are all been serve. ( We spend a total ~S$280)

4) Super friendly crews that you hardly get else where

They will change their menu every 6~8wks.... just cant get enough of it.