#29: Blind Dining. October 3, 2019.

I don’t think this is crazy; this restaurant is designed to be more a learning experience. There was a “blind” restaurant in Hong Kong where the diners all wore eye masks throughout the entire meal. This was to educate the sighted public what it is like to be blind in a dining out experience. All proceeds went to assist the blind in the community.

As soon as we walked in, we were asked to put on the masks, which we did. That’s why we had chosen this place. Each lady was escorted to and seated at the table by a host. Each man had a lady escort and seat him.

We were not given menus, but the selection was kept to a minimum. There were four courses: soup salad, entree with sides, and dessert. Appetizers were optional but we passed on them.

After we chose our soups and salads that the server listed for us as many times as necessary, he asked each of us in turn if we would prefer beef, pork, veal, chicken, fish, or shellfish.

I chose the grilled shrimp with rice pilaf and steamed fresh vegetables. I generally enjoy this dish and figured I could probably eat it okay without having to watch my plate.

Wine came with every meal and that was a true challenge. We immediately realized that we could place some utensil as a marker, a guide to the wine glass. Still, we had to move very slowly and carefully in approaching the wine glass and make sure to place it and its marker together after each sip.

The soups and salad were probably the easiest to eat as we each worked out a personal solution.

Depending on the entree each had ordered some meals were more manageable than others.

Richard had the steak And had a lot of trouble finding and cutting each bite. His wife Stephanie had the same trouble finding and cutting her veal. My “date” Yoyo had kind of cheated and ordered a burger. She was doing fine until she reached too low for it and knocked off the top bun and toppings.

My grilled shrimp arrived still on their skewer. Right away I decided to pull each one off with my fingers and eat them that way. I mean, no one could see me do it, right? And once I’d used my fingers, I also used them to help find the vegetables and to push the rice pilaf onto the fork.

As we struggled with the entrees, each person admitted that he was using his fingers. It made us realize why there was a sink at the entrance and we were all requested to wash our hands before donning the masks. They had been through this before.

Dessert wasn’t much of a challenge at this point, for I had ordered chocolate mousse. Once that spoon and glass were in my hand, I didn’t let go.

The girls had more problems with the cakes they’d ordered, and Richard was fool enough to order ice cream with fresh fruit. Just as he started, he popped the rounded ice cream scoop out of the cup and felt it hit his lap.

As we finished up the desserts and the dishes were removed, both a host and a hostess were at our side and asked us to remove the masks. But before doing so they explained to us that each dining room was private with only two tables: the one where we had eaten and a second table next to us. On the second table were placed each bowl and plate as we completed each course. These were arranged by our seating positions so we could each see what we had eaten or not eaten. They did compliment us on the fact that no one had spilled any wine, which was rare they claimed.

We removed our masks and saw that the table was an absolute mess. Every one of us was guilty. And it was easy to tell that food from one person had flown halfway or more across the table.

Next we were asked to look at the bowls and plates that we had eaten from as they were set on the next table. I thought I had done pretty well, but there was a lot of food that I missed, Everyone else was the same—even chunks of Yoyo’s burger had fallen off as she ate. And we all had missed a lot of edible food that we simply “didn’t see.”

As we stood and looked at this, discussed what we’d missed, Richard picked up his missed pieces of steak with his fingers and ate them; I likewise didn’t let my two shrimp go to waste. Our table was cleared and a new tablecloth was placed on it. A second bottle of wine was delivered and poured and we were offered an aperitif. All of this is included in the price of the meal, and it is a pricey experience.

Protocol at this restaurant is for us then to sit sighted again and discuss what we had learned, talk about the experience of trying fine dining while blind.

The food was great, and once we could see and the music was turned on in the room, the ambience was too. But it was the learning experience and the sharing we had in our conversations during and after the meal that was most memorable.

Richard and I were teachers together and we’d chosen this restaurant thinking that it might be a great experience for our students. We knew we couldn’t do it because of the cost and the fact that the kids would be scattered about in various rooms with no more than four to a room.

Regardless, we are glad that we did it. We discovered a lot about ourselves and what it is like for the sightless.

Four people used to fine dining sure can make a mess when they don’t watch what they’re doing.