In The Mood For A Dark Romance: Dining Experience at NOX - Dine in the Dark

A blind date (literally) - A romantic experience dining in the dark.

Have you lived in pitch-darkness? Some years ago, I experienced the Dialogue in the Dark tour, and it was unforgettable. Back then, we were led into a pitch-dark room, where we imagined we were blind and lived as blind people. I could still clearly remember how difficult it was to buy an ice cream and trying to make sure I got the right change.

So when I recently heard about a restaurant that provides an experience of dining in the dark, I just had to try it.



But dining at NOX is quite pricey. A 3 course dinner (without drinks) costs SGD$88++ per person, which can add up to about more than a hundred per person.

I need a good reason to try this restaurant.

Luckily, it was May and my husband's birthday, so it was a good chance to make a reservation.

Once we reached the restaurant, we were asked to wait at their lounge and order a drink as our table was being prepared. They had a pretty chic lounge area.

Handsome bartender.

Cozy seats.

We ordered 2 refreshing cocktails. 

Before we could finish our drink, they served our appetisers. I made a special dietary request as I was on a vegan diet (see this post), and was served some sundried tomatoes on a spoon. While my husband was served this delicious looking "ice-cream" on black sesame.

It's actually ikura and salmon in a cone, sticking in black sand.

From what my husband described, this appetiser is super good. I just realised ikura is salmon roe, so he's eating the dead mama's meat and its unborn babies... I guess the idea was from Oyako Don? Which also means parent-child rice bowl in Japanese.

We were also offered drinks to go with our meals later - an additional $30 for 3 glasses of wine, $20 for 2 glasses - which would be served with each course.

My husband ordered 2 glasses, and which was served after during the first and second course.

When our tables were ready, we were asked to keep everything in their locker, including watches. Then we were introduced to our visually-impaired waiter, Mohammed (I'm sorry if I got it wrong) and he greeted each of us, remembered our names and voices.

We lined up into a choo-choo train, hands to shoulders, with Mohammed in front, and climbed up the stairs. The stairs got darker and darker, and we walked slower and slower, until it was pitch-dark.

Hm.. how should I describe the kind of darkness. It looks like this:

Notice the green dot a the top left corner?

That's was all I could see. We were guessing what was the source of the green light. Air-con? Exit sign? Fire alarm? Well, that's part of the mystery..

Just like the slow-mo scenes from Kdramas, our movements became really slow in the dark, we had to touch everything before we made a move, so that we don't fall or break a glass.

After lovingly caressing most of the non-living things around, we finally managed to sit down and found our utensils.

I shall not reveal how we ate in the dark, so that it's more enjoyable for those who have never been to this restaurant :)

But their food standard was SUPER good. Taste and texture well-balanced, even though I chose the vegan meal, they still managed to make the food as nice as non-vegan ones.

After we finished our dessert, we were brought down back to the lounge. I arranged a surprise chocolate cake for my husband, with a beautifully written "Happy Birthday XXX".

The flowers can be eaten.

We were then shown what we ate in the dark, we could guess 90% correctly the food we ate. It's really true your sense of taste heightens when your sense of sight is reduced.

Our Dark Romance - Treasuring the Light Moments

I would highly recommend new couples, newly weds or even families to try dining at this restaurant. The experience of talking to your loved ones in the dark is a whole-new experience.

The thing about being in the dark is that, when nobody talks, it can get quite scary or boring or empty, depending on your character. So people tend to keep conversation going on, because being in a foreign setting, it makes you want to hear the most familiar voice available.

Oh, and being phone-free was a bonus. Even though me and my husband are not super hooked onto our phones (I personally think so), but at times he would read articles on his phone, while I check messages, during dinner. Dining in the dark made us focused on each other solely, noticing the subtle changes in each other's voices when we talk about various topics.

In addition to that, you don't have to worry how you look, how you sit, how you ate, how the others are looking, you are just you.

And this was so liberating.

I am a person who can be overly concerned with strangers, such as worrying whether I look dumb or stupid when exclaiming the food is good, or whether I am drawing too much attention, because I always accidentally drop my food or my utensils.

During the whole dinner in the dark, I sat cross-legged, which was my most comfortable eating position, dropped food, and scratched my face in the most shameless way. But it's okay, nobody could see.

However, the biggest takeaway from this dining experience was that I am so grateful for my sense of sight.

At the end of our last course, Mohammed said: "Please treasure your sight and do not take your sight for granted. I hope you enjoy your dinner, let me bring you down now."

Even though he said it really fast, just like a well-memorised script, but the fact that it came from him, a visually-impaired, left a deep impression on me.

In more than an hour without my sight, I have already felt the fear of falling, the insecurity of the unexpected, the anxiety of being bored or alone... imagine these feelings x10000 more complex and intense, for a lifetime.

I have a perfect eyesight and I like to read webtoons before I sleep. My husband, who wears a spectacles with 700 degrees, always asked me to on the light or to make my phone dimmer, so that I won't spoil my eyesight. Definitely a good example of taking my perfect eyesight for granted.

I'm glad I can see. I can see where I'm heading. I can see how my friends and family looked when they are happy, sad or angry. I can see Dou Dou doing cute stuff without her noticing. I can appreciate how colours interact to create a beautiful painting. I can see my husband, and remember the scene when he stood on the stage, playing the piano, waiting for me to walk down the aisle with my father.

Can't do all these without my sense of sight. I'm thankful for what I had.

Once again, this is a highly recommended place if you have the budget. And their menu change once every few months, so that you can keep going to try their new menu.

My Ratings:
Affordability:  ★★
Taste:              ★★★★★
Uniqueness:   ★★★★

Once again, do check out their details, pricing, location or make reservations here .