There is a restaurant in Soho called Dans
Le Noir that I have wanted to try out for ages, but it’s expensive and the
menu looks a little scary, so while I was living there we never quite made it
through the door. It’s a restaurant run by blind staff, offering you the chance
to heighten your other senses by dining in pitch-black darkness. The idea sort
of terrifies me, but I’ve always wanted to try it out!
When I moved to
Singapore I kept a small portion of my London list that I never quite made it
to the end of, and Dans Le Noir has stayed
on there, waiting for my return, but I think that I may now finally be ready to
cross it off the list!
I am the “cultural
ambassador” for our Singapore office, and so it’s my responsibility to ensure that
the team over here get all the same perks and benefits (or most of them at
least) to the other offices around the world. I’m still working on the free
breakfasts, sponsored dinners when you have to stay in the office late and
weekly yoga classes, but I’m doing my best!
This week the company
is celebrating hiring our 300th person on to the team! In the US HQ
they held a huge office party, with themed outfits and around 200 people
partying late into the night. If we tried that over here we would have 6 people
dancing around the printer, so we needed a different plan, but still something
a bit off the wall.
Step in Nox, Singapore’s answer to Dans Le Noir – not only do I get to try
out the game, but I get to try it out on company expenses before venturing out
there with friends. You can’t say fairer than that!
Whilst I was really
excited about this dinner plan before I left the office, as I really started to
think about the fact that I would be sitting in pure, pitch black darkness for
two hours, attempting to eat a three course dinner without spilling it all down
myself I actually started to get a bit scared. Blindness has always terrified
me, and whilst I wasn’t planning to move around too much once I had been
seated, it was still suddenly a very daunting idea.
We arrived ten minutes
before our table reservation, so we settled in the main bar (which was
thankfully fully lit) to check out the drinks menus and order a cocktail each
to get us started. From this lounge we were told that there would be no more
menus, so if we wanted drinks with dinner we had to order them then and there
to be delivered to us at the table (we opted for the two glasses of wine that
they paired with the meal). From then on, we were eating, tasting and living
blind!
Bags, phones and all
personal possessions (and anything like watches that might give off light) were
locked safely away, and then we were formed into a human chain (hands on
shoulders) and led up a pitch-black staircase by our waiter for the evening.
All the waiters are blind or partially sighted, so they are a lot more
efficient in the dark then fully sighted people would have been.
At the top of the
stairs we took a sharp left and were led into one of the four smaller dining
rooms. Normally there would be between 10 to 12 people in each room, but as we
had a larger than normal table of 6, we lucked out and got our own private
room. It turns out people normally only
go here in couples. It’s my idea of a nightmare for a date destination, but
what do I know?
We were slowly walked
round the table and allocated our chairs – I am pretty sure that we all
breathed a sigh of relief when we each made it to a seated position without
anything too disastrous occurring.
There followed a full
table service of three courses, each made up of four small ramekins of food.
You had to eat your way around the pots in a particular order, trying to work
out what was in each; this is where it really got scary for me. I was there
with people who eat pig organ soup as a treat, so as I heard them grab spoons
and start shovelling without any fear of what they might be about to bite down
on, I realised that I was no way near as adventurous as they were.
I quickly developed a
little routine for working my way through the dishes in safety, and I have to
say that I am grateful it was dark so that no one else got to witness it. Each
pot was brought right up to my face so that I could get a good whiff of it.
Then I would poke it with my finger to try and establish a texture of sorts.
Next was a quick poke with my tongue to get a very basic flavour, and then I
would venture in with a spoon to try it out more fully.
There were twelve
dishes in total, with everything from prawns, and steak to duck and
sweetbreads, but the delightful interpretations of Western desserts were my
undoubted favourites! I was proud for finishing each dish completely, but it
certainly took me a little longer than the rest of the table.
I realised one thing
during my time at the table that both worried and impressed me. I noticed that
no matter how dark it is, no matter what crazy food is being put on the table
or how clustered the table in front of me is, I can drink two glasses of wine
without spilling a drop and without a second’s hesitation when locating my
glass. Picking up and managing wine glasses is apparently something that I
really can do with my eyes closed!
Two hours later, with plates
cleared, we were put back into chain formation and led down the stairs, back to
the real world. While everyone else emerged into the light happy to be able to
see again, I arrived with my face screwed up into a tiny ball, unable to bear
the bright lights as my eyes streamed. If you thought it was mean when people
turn the light on in the middle of the night while you’re sleeping, you have no
idea of the pain of coming back into the light from two hours of straining them
to see in the pure darkness
We then ran through the
menu of what we had eaten throughout the night, which none of us got 100% right
(it turned out the pork was duck and the duck was pork and the scallops were sweetbreads)
and then it was time to go home. It wasn’t a longwinded or drunken night out,
but it was great fun, and something that I am most definitely going to be
dragging Nick along to soon (now that I’ve got over the fear).
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