Western tourists are fascinated by the culinary experience in a dark room in Ho Chi Minh City
Báo Dân trí•15/10/2024
(Dan Tri) - Stepping out of the pitch-black room, Sofie Wysmans was stunned for a few seconds and then exclaimed: "Amazing!" (This is amazing!). The feeling of excitement was clearly visible on her face after the strange dinner.
Experiencing dining in a dark room, Western guests "forget the way home" when coming to Ho Chi Minh City (Video: Cam Tien).
For a normal meal, diners often prioritize places with beautiful spaces, delicious dishes, and delicate decorations... But when entering a dining journey in the dark, everything becomes a mystery, and guests will not be able to know what awaits them. From the space to the dishes, everything is hidden in the darkness. Through a post on a Dutch blog, Mr. Seppe Steegmans and Ms. Sofie Wysmans (Belgian tourists) found the Noir restaurant, located in an alley in Ho Chi Minh City. In the heart of bustling District 1, this place is like a peaceful oasis with a classic yet sophisticated decoration with countless antiques that the restaurant owner has painstakingly collected from everywhere. The journey of the two foreign guests began with an interesting game. They were blindfolded, only allowed to use their hands to grope and arrange the wooden blocks in the right position. When the light was no longer guiding them, this task was much more difficult than many people thought. Participants usually took about 3 minutes, or maybe more, to complete this challenge. It was also a gentle "warm-up" step for the exciting journey that was waiting ahead. Before entering the dark room, diners must put all personal belongings, especially light-emitting devices such as phones and smart watches, into separate lockers. These lockers are numbered with raised characters for the visually impaired. Leading the Belgian couple into the dining room was Ha - a visually impaired employee. Putting her hand on Ha's shoulder, Sofie appeared nervous as the light gradually receded. The female tourist did not expect the dark room to be... pitch black, to the point where she could not see anything. "This is when the remaining senses begin to "speak" and we have to guess about everything through the remaining senses," the excited guest said. All around, the conversations in various languages of foreign guests, occasionally interspersed with the sound of spoons and forks hitting each other as guests had to scoop food in a state of "not seeing anything", all became more vivid than ever thanks to... the darkness. The blind waiters moved with ease and skill, delivering food and even pouring wine and water with incredible precision. Each dish was brought out one by one. The waiters gently guided Mr. Seppe and Ms. Sofie to the position of the plates, spoons and forks on the table. When the light is gone, the other senses seem to rise strongly. The sense of smell becomes more sensitive to the aroma of food, the sense of taste is sharper to feel each food ingredient in the mouth, the sense of hearing captures every sound including the crunchy chewing sound and the sense of touch also becomes more delicate when touching each item on the table. The dark space makes Mr. Seppe not even know if he has finished eating or not. "When I was about to take another spoonful, I discovered that there was nothing left. The food was delicious but because I couldn't see anything, the meal ended unexpectedly like that," the guest said with a laugh. According to Dan Tri reporters, most of the customers at this restaurant are foreigners. Besides, there are still Vietnamese people who love to explore and experience, coming here mostly out of curiosity. After 7:30 p.m., the restaurant is almost fully booked and customers only come at the scheduled time. The staff said that they only accept customers from 5:30 p.m. to before 9:30 p.m. to avoid customers being shocked by the light after leaving the dark room. Here, guests can choose a special menu of 14 completely secret dishes priced at over 1 million VND/person. There is also a daily menu with 11 small dishes, priced at 860,000 VND for meat dishes and 720,000 VND for vegetarian dishes. The menu is changed every 3 months, bringing newness when guests return. After the meal, guests can review the list of dishes they have enjoyed, comparing it with their judgments during the meal. Both Mr. Seppe and Ms. Sofie continuously exclaimed with delight when they correctly guessed many ingredients in the dishes. Ms. Sofie described: "This experience is very different from everyday meals, where everything is laid out and we just have to eat. Here, I don't know what to expect, I really can't see anything. You have to taste and feel everything in mystery, from the food to the drinks". Ms. Ayumi Hara (Japanese tourist) came to Ho Chi Minh City to do her own culinary tour. With suggestions from her friends, she went to the restaurant alone. After experiencing a meal in the dark, the female tourist could not hide her excitement: "Normally when I eat, my vision is dominated by many things, but in the dark, I become more focused, my other senses are also more sensitive. I can hear people talking and the sound of food crunching in my mouth". Mr. Germ Doornbos (Dutch, restaurant owner) said that although the model of dining in the dark is not new in the world, it still brings very special experiences to diners when coming to Vietnam. This idea started in 1999, when a restaurant in Switzerland created the concept of dining in the dark, since then, many other restaurants in Europe have begun to learn and spread to a few countries in Asia. Mr. Germ Doornbos and his co-founder, Mr. Vu Anh Tu, had the opportunity to experience this model in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and immediately realized that this would be a potential direction. "We knew this was a reasonable business model and could develop, but honestly, at that time, applying this model in Vietnam was still a rather reckless step, with many potential risks," Mr. Germ recalled. In fact, more than 10 years have passed, the "dining in the dark" restaurant still maintains a stable number of customers and has become one of the interesting destinations for tourists when visiting Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Germ confided: "What makes us proud is not only bringing diners a new experience, but also creating job opportunities for the visually impaired. For customers, this is a memorable dinner, but for our service team - the visually impaired - this is an opportunity for them to demonstrate their abilities and use their strengths in a meaningful way." Blind girl Pham Thi Huong (Gia Lai) used to have an inferiority complex when applying for a service staff position. Huong feared that her closed personality and shyness in communication would hinder her in her work. However, after more than 2 years working here, Huong has had many positive changes as she has not only become more confident in communication but also significantly improved her English. Talking to Dan Tri reporter, Huong proudly shared: "I feel like I am living and doing the job I love. This job helps me have a more stable life, I have the opportunity to get to know many friends in the same situation, work together and share life". In the hustle and bustle of modern life, when smartphones have become an inseparable part of everyone, temporarily putting aside work notifications, messages, calls... to focus on a meal and feel with all the senses becomes an unforgettable experience.
Through a post on a Dutch blog, Mr. Seppe Steegmans and Ms. Sofie Wysmans (Belgian tourists) found the Noir restaurant, located in an alley in Ho Chi Minh City. In the heart of bustling District 1, this place is like a peaceful oasis with a classic yet sophisticated decoration with countless antiques that the restaurant owner has painstakingly collected from everywhere. 
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