Expats
Bland food with no spark at Chinese knockoff
By Wang Wen (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-11 10:05
In the dark, anything can happen. And that is exactly what Yu Shuang wants.
Yu is the owner of Trojan Fairy, a restaurant where customers enjoy - or try to enjoy - their food in a pitch black dining room.
The dark restaurant movement first emerged in Switzerland in 1999 and has since popped up around the world. Several such eateries have opened, and have closed, in Beijing over the past couple of years.
Yu, who also owns a beauty salon and works part time as a cosmetic surgeon, said she got the idea when she was having dinner with her husband at home last spring and the lights went out.
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 A waiter with night goggles leads customers into a dark dining room at Trojan Fairy. [Xinhua] |
The experience apparently made such an impression that Yu decided to recreate it for others in an out-of-business Japanese restaurant just down the hall from her beauty salon on the eighth floor of the Friendship Hotel on Xidan North Street in Xicheng district.
Customers are greeted by an overwhelmingly colorful mural depicting a gigantic Trojan horse surrounded by a smorgasbord of bizarre cartoon characters - pirates, monsters and wizards - before being led by waiters wearing night goggles into the darkness.
Diners choose in advance from one of three four-course menus that feature interesting mixes of what could be could be summed up as continental cuisine fused with what perhaps are some leftovers from the previous Japanese tenant: miso soup, sushi, baked fish, breads, steak, to name a few.
Mobile phones and other gadgets that glow must also be placed in a locker before entering the light deprived space.
Walking in is the usual terrifying experience of not knowing whether you are about to fall down a flight of stairs or run into a wall. Luckily, aside from a small ramp, which is a bit tricky to navigate, the journey to the table is obstacle free.
Attentive waiters who speak some English (the menus are in Chinese) immediately start serving tea and bread while outdated electronic music plays in the background.
Initially, the experience is entertaining, bringing forth musings of what it must feel like to be blind. The experience could be even more fun with a date, yet keep in mind that while you cannot see them, the waiters can see you.
Without romance, the blackness can soon become boredom, especially if the food lacks flavor, which it does at Trojan Fairy.
The bread turned out to be cold slices of buttery toast that one would expect to eat at a roadside diner. Salad, though it could not be seen, consisted of random vegetables and fruits, covered in dressing tasting of soy sauce and vinegar.
The main course, some sort of steak, was lukewarm and tough. Knives were provided but obviously were not very useful given the circumstances. The one glass of wine that was served was a cheap Chinese red.
Pretty much every course, except the sushi, which was oddly served as dessert, tasted like reheated cafeteria food. Which is unfortunate since the central experience of dark dining surrounds the accentuation of flavors, textures and aromas from removing visual stimuli.
Hopefully Trojan Fairy's food will get better. If not, all its lights could soon be turned off for good.
Add: Floor 8, Friendship Hotel, Xidan North Street, Xicheng district
Tel: 66360116
