On one of our visits to Vancouver, my daughter Ali, who was working there, invited us to a unique experience—a restaurant called Dining in the Dark.

We were welcomed by a visually impaired hostess and escorted to our table. It was like entering a place with your eyes closed.

The menu was limited but you may order wine. The experience will indeed heighten your senses and awareness of your surroundings. When you hear a glass fall, you know someone messed up and that’s entertainment. It was a nice experience, but I will never do it again because the food was horrible.

Last week, I got an invite to dine in the sky. I thought it was something unique so, of course, I wanted to experience it. In my mind, it would be on a plane and we would be served a different kind of meal.

I didn’t bring my car, dreading heavy traffic. My only choice was to ride my Piaggio ex400 scooter. This was something I had never done, but rather than miss this event, I hopped on and, with a gentle prayer for safety, arrived with helmet hair in the meeting place, Solaire Resort & Casino.

Dinner in the Sky

As it turned out, dinner would not be on a plane, but rather at a rectangular dining table for 22, with the kitchen in the middle. This structure would then be lifted 150 feet above the ground with the use of a crane. This was Dinner in the Sky.

Each seat looked like a race driver’s F1 Recaro seat, with safety belts and all. We were strapped in and briefed on the rules. In the kitchen were Solaire’s chef de cuisine Hylton Le Roux, two assistant cooks, and a safety officer.

We were then slowly lifted up. When we reached the 150 feet height, the dinner began. We started with fresh tuna sashimi with citrus glaze. Delicious! It was followed by another appetizer, chunks of chicken with a nice crust and a brown sauce. Also very good.

The main course was a choice of salmon or pork belly. The latter arrived with chicharon crust. It was super tender, lean pork belly on a bed of refried beans. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and delectable.

For dessert, we were given a cheesecake ball with a variety of condiments for us to use our own touch. That was fun. I thought the whole meal was perfect in terms of portion, taste and experience.

After an hour, we were lowered to the ground. This once-in-a-lifetime experience turned out to be the opposite of my “dinner in the dark.”

Delicate, neat plating

The meal may have seemed very simple, but I can imagine the planning that went into it. There was no cooking done in the air. It was all delicate and neat plating. It was a show on air, too, with Le Roux and his assistants providing the preparation and meticulous show for us.

Would I recommend it? One hundred percent! Check it out. Dinner in the Sky will be at Solaire until end of May.

Happy eating!

My Japan food tour starts on Sunday, April 15; another is scheduled on May 5. E-mail [email protected].