Ever wondered what it’d be like to dine in the dark? Popular buffet restaurant Carousel @ Royal Plaza on Scotts is the latest to hit the scene with Hidden Table, a Carousel Collection – a sensorial journey that transforms dining into theatre.
Guests can expect a fully immersive experience in complete darkness, where taste, texture, sound and aroma come to the forefront in the absence of sight.
A themed four-course dinner will be served, accompanied with dramatic narrations and sensory experiences designed to awake and engage the senses.
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As this is a scripted event, guests are seated in batches at fixed timings. There are two seatings per day (6-8pm, 8-10pm), with a maximum of 24 guests for each seating.
Our Hidden Table Experience
Our experience began at Palm Cafe at Level 5 of Royal Plaza on Scotts, where we were given a briefing and some dramatically-presented welcome drinks, dubbed Elixir of the Forgotten Dusk. After placing our belongings (including all light-emitting devices such as watches) in a locker, we were escorted into the dining area.
Stepping through a rather nondescript door, we were plunged into complete darkness – literally the kind where (as the Chinese saying goes) you stretch out your hand and you cannot even see your five fingers.
Our sensorial journey had already begun as we entered the dining area, with wafts of floral fragrance and notes of soothing ethereal music floating on a cool breeze (tip: bring along a jacket as the room does get quite cold).
We were led to our table by our “guardian owl” – our server who would be on hand for the rest of the evening to assist us, serve our food and ensure we were well taken care of in the dark.
(We were curious as to how the servers navigated the complete darkness – at another dine-in-the-dark experience we’ve been to, the servers are visually-impaired and so are accustomed to the pitch-black environment. As it turns out, the servers here are equipped with night-vision goggles – so don’t be too creeped out when you spot two red orbs of light heading towards you!)
Our first task was to acquaint ourselves with our surroundings. With some prompting from our server, we felt around tentatively for our cutlery, napkin, a bottle of water and a glass. We tried our hand at pouring ourselves a glass of water – a simple action that we take for granted but which took on a whole new level of difficulty when sight was removed. Quickly enough, we learned to rely on touch and hearing instead to determine when the glass was approaching full.
After all the guests were seated, dinner was served. Each course tells a chapter of a forest-themed story: The New World, The Forest Awakening, The Enchanted Woodland, The Undergrowth.
Without giving too much away, the forest theme is consistently woven into all the dishes, with creative use of ingredients, flavours and textures.
The immersive experience is made complete with dramatic narration preceding each course, as well as sounds, smells and even sensations designed to make you feel as if you are really trudging deep into the woods.
Following the meal, we were escorted back out into the light, where we reclaimed our belongings and gathered back at Palm Cafe for a debrief.
The chef and accompanying kitchen staff went table to table, asking us our guesses for the proteins served and then showing us pictures of each course and describing in more detail the components and thought process behind each course.
If you are able to correctly guess all three proteins served, you will be handsomely rewarded with either a staycation at Royal Plaza on Scotts for two, or a dinner buffet! (If you were wondering – no, we didn’t manage to get it).
Hidden Table: Just another gimmick or worth your dollar?
With the removal of the sense of sight, we felt that our other senses were indeed elevated – every taste, smell, and even touch and sound became more pronounced, allowing us to savour our meal in a very unique way.
With the arrival of each course, we would take time to smell the food and use our hands to get a sense of what was before us, before digging in.
In fact, I soon realised that my hands were far more adept at handling the food than a fork and spoon, and I ended up having a literal “hands-on experience” for the most part.
Not being able to see the food did not in any way diminish our enjoyment of the meal; on the contrary, we experienced the heightening of our other senses that enabled us to enjoy our food more thoughtfully and with a more intense focus, and without any preconceived notions or biases that we might otherwise have had if we had the benefit of sight.
While this is not our first time dining in the dark, Hidden Table differentiates itself from other dine-in-the-dark experiences with its focus on the theatrical aspect.
Every course is likened to a chapter of a story or an act of a play, transforming the meal into a full sensory journey where diners get to be a part of a grand performance. We really enjoyed how the theme was consistently played out in all aspects of the experience, and how we felt like we were really being transported to a forest setting.
A side benefit of the whole dine-in-the-dark experience is the no-phones policy – most of us would probably underestimate just how often we pick up our phones to check our messages or Google random things throughout the course of a meal.
Without the distraction of our phones, we were better able to focus on the food, the experience and on each other.
We had lots of fun mulling over the ingredients and flavours, trying to figure out just what each protein was, and sharing our surprise and delight with each other at the discovery of each new element on our plate.
Verdict: We recommend Hidden Table for adventurous eaters who are eager to engage in a fully immersive experience.
The price is certainly worth it because you are getting not just a delicious four-course meal but also a ticket to a theatrical performance that you get to be a part of. However, if you are scared of the dark, claustrophobic or a picky eater, you’d probably want to stick with something more conventional.
Visit Hidden Table, a Carousel Collection
Hidden Table is now open for dinner bookings every Wednesday to Sunday. We were informed that the theme (and menu) for the dinners will change every few months. Note that there is a minimum age requirement of 12 years old.
Where: Royal Plaza on Scotts, 25 Scotts Road, Singapore 228220
When: Wednesdays-Sundays, 6-8pm or 8-10pm
How much: $78 per guest (regularly $98) for a limited time
More details: Hidden Table Website
