NOX Dining in the Dark

We went for our first NOX Dining in the Dark experience last weekend for Bubba's birthday. He just turned 35! (So young!)

Nox used to be at Beach Road but they have since moved to Club Street. It's a 3 course meal at $88++ a person (each course has like 4 bowls on a plate... kind of like a taster type surprise menu). Together with cocktail pairing (3 cocktails) and a beer while waiting in the lounge, the bill came up to around $340.

When we first arrived, we were seated in their lounge (it is lit), and served an amuse bouche (a flakey pastry with some strawberry thingy in the middle)... until it was time for us to be seated upstairs (in the dark) for dinner. The staff that brought us up to our table was Rahamat. And we were also served by Bernard. 

Excellent top notch service by the staff, who are visually impaired by the way. Everything ran flawlessly and they were so professional, warm and inviting. They spoke well, and OMG their voices... can rival top DJs. 

When it was our turn, Adamson, myself, and 3 other diners stood in line and put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us (like Choo choo train). Then Rahamat led us up a staircase, and before he opened the door to the pitch black dining area, Adamson said something along the lines of "I'm nervous" and Rahamat said (in a nice, not rude way ah) "Welcome to my world". Which was so poignant... and just like that, we were engulfed by the dark.

Like seriously dark, can't even see my hand in front of my face kind of dark. 

We were led to our tables. And had a brief session where we were told what was in front of us as we felt around (like where the cutlery was, the water glass etc). 

The courses were timed well. Not too long a wait between courses. Just enough time for conversation and to enjoy the food and drink. The experience is special and one of a kind. 

It's a surprise menu, so we had fun trying to guess what we were eating. Was this a fish? Miso? Kimchi? What's this grainy stuff? I taste lamb... etc. 

But in terms of - was it a mind blowingly delicious meal? No, it wasn't. None of it tasted bad... I actually ate everything they served (portions were small) but everything tasted quite mild in my opinion, even the lamb was so mild. If you like more base flavours, you know, nothing unexpected, they you will love the food there. I didn't hate it... but for me it would be good if they threw in some strong/surprising/decadent tastes in a few of the dishes... like a small piece of pan seared foie gras... or a chinchalok topped prawn.

The cocktails they paired the meals with were good. Tasted great. Strong too, not weak ass shit. lol.

After the 3 courses, we were led back down to the lounge where we learnt what exactly we had tasted for dinner. Sight really does play a part when it comes to identifying food. But when you're in the dark for some time, you rely heavily on your other senses. For the most part, our smell and taste did help us guess most of the dishes correctly.

(I have no pictures of dinner or the dining area because no phones allowed, have to keep the area completely dark so as not to spoil the experience.)

It was a very special experience, and I'm glad I thought of it for his birthday. I think it's definitely something you should try at least once. It was exciting, a bit scary (the pitch blackness can be a bit overwhelming at first), and strangely very calming once you settle into the darkness.