Trials and Tribulations

Dining in the Dark

We eat with our eyes: This is something I learnt the hard way as I savoured on what I had believed to be a shave of – rather fresh – carrot. It was not a piece of carrot, so my guess was incorrect, and so were the 20 other speculations I had made later to a chuckling restaurant manager.

Our brain is in a constant operational state, balancing out our senses and how they are all being utilised. Partially handicapping one sense, however, invigorates the others, making us experience the world around us in ways we had never imagined – including really tasting what we are eating.

Ramada Hotel Jumeirah’s Asian restaurant – Ginger – decided to put that to the test. Laying out a full five-course menu for us to try as we were completely blindfolded, it made for an innovative dinner set-up, all in commemoration of Earth Hour. The lights slightly dimmed, we fumbled in search for the cutlery, and laughed at our near-hits and misses, later enjoying the marvellous creations on offer in full view.

Worth a try? It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, in the sense that you would probably get to do it only once due to the unlikelihood of its occurrence across the year, and because it is not the way you would want to enjoy your food on a regular basis. It makes you appreciate presentation and food combinations, but if you are a foodie the frustration might just be a bit too much to handle.