Dine in the Dark (DID), Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Have you ever eaten in the dark whether it is because of the electricity faults or because of a new themed type of restaurant? Well I haven’t. I remember during my childhood days the series of blackouts in my hometown. We don’t have any generators so we don’t have a choice but to eat in dim light. Like what my mother told us think of it as a candle light dinner with mosquitos biting you. So as I venture myself into planning the Cambodia trip this attraction has caught my eyes. It was something new and worth trying.

Dine in the Dark or DID as people call it is a restaurant where they serve you a 3 course meal (Appetizer, Main Dish and Dessert) which you need to consume in the dark literally. As you enter the restaurant you will be asked to stay downstairs and choose from their menu. No pictures were shown as you will have to rely on your taste buds as you eat. All phones and cameras are not allowed as well during the dinner they will ask you to put your stuff in a locked box. A blind waiter will then guide you upstairs to the dining area where you will experience total darkness. People will just keep on talking and I too was talking so much (you just couldn’t stop me).

As the time progress the foods were served consecutively. They will only serve you the next meal after 15 minutes or so but if you are still not finish with your current meal then your next meal could wait. I ordered the Khmer cuisine and I rely on my taste buds and hands to know what the food is. The Appetizer actually is a finger food so it is easy to eat. The Main course on the other hand is rice with Viand and lastly the dessert is a flan with ice cream. Normally they don’t serve those saucy dishes as it would be messy to eat. The food is quite ok, I learned that you appreciate the food more if you could not see it. Your senses that are activated are more sensitive than usual. For the price well some say that it’s a bit pricey but for me it was ok since this is a rare experience. You could also think about them helping the disabled. So for me its worth the money and time. :)

Let’s go for a massage and dinner!

Pamper time before dinner

Welcome to dine in the dark

Entrance to this unique restaurant. If you want the ordinary dimmed lighted restaurant they have it downstairs where you can order their ala carte meal

Dining/Waiting area

DID Menu

Comfortable seats as you wait or eat. After the dinner they will show you the image of what have been served to you. I don’t think that these pictures are the actual images of what was served. The food served are more dark eating per se friendly. But they still serve the same. The plating is just different based on what my sense of touch experienced.

After DID we grab some drinks in the nearest Pub. The price for beer is around $0.60 per bottle

Ofcourse it’s cocktail drink for me J

 

Will I come back again?

Yes I will! But since I have already experienced dining in the dark I still prefer dining with lights in this way I can communicate better with my friends. The experience is worth trying for so I really reccomend it maybe it be here in DID or other restaurants with the same theme.

 

 

Location and Contact Details

Dine in the Dark (DID)

Street 19 | Cross streets 154 & 172, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Contact number: +855 77 589 458

 

Opening Hours:

Monday to Sunday

6:00-10:30pm

 

Budget:

PHP 809 - PHP 854 per person. 3-course meal