My Dinner in the Dark Experience

When I was a kid, I loved building blanket tents and pretend that I’m camping with my stuffed toys and flashlight. I even remember the time when my dad bought me a Beauty and the Beast camping set (with tent and sleeping bag) and I would sleep there from time to time. It sure was fun playing in the dark and pretend that I’m in a jungle with only my flashlight as my source of light. But I never realized how scary it is to be in a pitch dark room and experience having your sense of sight taken from you.

It all started when my favorite Dragon lady, T, tagged me in a post about this Dinner in the Dark. I was still pretty high with the Murder Mystery Dinner post I saw a few nights before that made me do a bit of mental accounting to determine if spending PHP1,800 was worth it or not. (Then I saw another one for PHP3,500! But this one was hosted by EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.)

The Dinner in the Dark was actually pricier compared to the Murder Mystery Dinner as it costs PHP2,000. However, T convinced me that the Dinner in the Dark has more value for money as a portion of the money will be given to a partner NGO. And since I didn’t give back during my birthday last February, I thought that this might be a good start. Plus I get to experience something unique.

So, hello darkness!

Before the dinner, we were briefed by the organizer on what to expect. We were also told that it started in Europe and that all the servers inside are all visually impaired.  And in order for us not to be tempted to Instagram total darkness, we had to leave all our stuff in the waiting area along with our bags and other shiny accessories.

We entered the dark room in two batches. We all had to hold the shoulder of the person in front and form some sort of caterpillar. We were also told to touch the walls so that we won’t get hit on our way to our table. I had to admit, I was so scared! The last thing I wanted to happen was trip, fall and be stepped on by the person behind me.

After a few steps from the door, we were told to touch the chair in front of us. Of course, there was a slight confusion on who owns which chair as some of us grabbed the same one.

As soon as everyone was seated, we all tried to feel what’s in front of us—knife, spoon, two forks, and a teaspoon. We all placed our table napkins on our laps as instructed and then our server said, “There’s a pitcher of water in front of you. You may now fill your glass with water.” And that made us mentally utter, “Shoot!”

After a bit, the first dish was served.

It felt rough and round so we all assumed that it was a coconut shell. Given that it was on a “coconut shell” we all thought that the dish would have coconut in it. But what we had was a light soup with chicken and some greens. F then said, “Tinola.” And the mystery was gone.

Next served was our salad. Since we had no idea what it was, we felt it with our hands. Again, we felt something rough and something rather slimy. After a forkful of the slimy part, we reacted almost in unison, “Tangy!” It was definitely green mangoes. So we guessed that the rough and hard one would be catfish. But it wasn’t. It was okoy.

The main dish was served next.

Again, we felt the dish with our fingers and we felt something grainy and a slab of meat. After a spoonful of it, we realized that it was fish. There was also rice which complemented the rather salty fish. On one corner of the plate, we discovered some greens which were crazy salty! Most skipped that after one bite. The other side had slices of tangy radish.

Now for the dessert.

The dessert was delightful! It was placed in a block of rock that has three holes. One had Calamansi sorbet (I guess to clean the palate) while the other two had chocolate cake and leche flan in an egg shell.

We went crazy over the sweets that we asked if it’s possible to have another round. And they gave us another!

After the interesting and one-of-a-kind dinner, we were asked to stand up, do the drill (hand over another person's shoulder) and walk towards the exit. Once we got out, our eyes had a hard time adjusting to light. (And just an hour ago, it was having a hard time adjusting to darkness.)

It was a unique experience and it sure made me value my sense of sight. Funny though how not seeing the food heighten our other senses. It sure was amazing.

I'll definitely do it again when I get to visit Hong Kong.


-Gluttonshopper