I know about this restaurant from Hamka, my co-worker. He told me that there was a unique café around Pascal Hypersquare. What’s the special? It is dining in the dark. The word “dark” is not meant that there is not much light or the room is only illuminated by the twilight light of candles. It is not like that. This dark means absolute darkness. Total absence of the light. If you could recall the movie title of Chronicles of Riddick prequel, then it is like that.

Sometimes, I leisurely go along Pasir Kaliki street, just wondering, what kind of dining place it is. But I could not find it. Other time, when I was walking in Ciwalk, I saw the place. Ok, we decided to have dinner in that place for quenching my curiosity.

From the person I meet in the front counter, I was informed that the concept of this restaurant is just like what Hamka said. She said that the purpose of having dark condition for dining is to enhance the pleasure of mouth and tongue in tasting the food. It is by blocking the sensory of vision so that the brain will focus on the sense of taste. This process may intensify the deliciousness of food if it is compared to when we have a meal with our eyes seeing regularly.

Ok, I ordered menu for two people (the price was able to be paid, but…) If I’m not mistaken, I ordered a kind of chicken steak or something like that. I was not familiar with the food title.

The dining place is in the second floor. The first floor is for the cashier and counter for placing order. There are also two tables provided for those who can not stand the darkness. Before going to the second floor, we were asked to handover things that can produce light. Cellular phone, flashlight, and cigarette lighter are among the things. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, I emptied my pocket and put them all in the provided locker. In front of the stair, a waiter (a blind man) give a little explanation about concept of dining in the dark and also the purpose of that condition blah..blah..blah.. (exactly like I’ve written in the previous paragraph).

Then we go upstairs, line-up in a train-like queuing. I put both my hands on his shoulders and he led us the way to our table and sofa.

OK, it is a complete darkness.

After properly seated in the sofa, my eyes immediately have maximum accommodation, trying hard to catch a light. But it was nil. Vaguely, I noticed a little light on my left side. It looks like the entrance door. The situation was rather quite in the sense of there were no voice of people or chattering sound nearby. The room was filled with gentle sound of music from Indonesian popular song. A metal-like clinking sound was heard nearby. It is probably the waiter who was preparing tableware.

The total darkness, quietness, and gentle blowing of air conditioner made a perfect blend in performing chilly ambience. I wished I didn’t put my jacket in the locker. After several minutes, a waitress voice was approaching us. This one is not blind. She’s wearing a night-vision goggle. There is a tiny flickering red dot around her face. It means, even though the surrounding is dark, it is recommended to not performing any improper behavior whatsoever. Why? Well, it is certainly because there are other persons who can see you (and off course there is The All Seeing). She brought beverages and put the glasses directly into our reach. Our hand moved very slowly with extra care. If the glass was tipped over and the content was spilled, it would be very troublesome. It is even quite difficult to get the straw, avoiding the possibility for it to unintentionally enter my nose hole, heheh… Several minutes later, a man came to our table. This time, the food was with him.

Ok, now this was rather unique. After he finished serving the food, he began to describe the position of the meal on the plate. French fries and vegetables on the right side, meat on the middle, the sauce in the farther side (or something like that, I forgot the details). What is more, although we ordered a steak, there was no knife provided to cut the meat, only spoon was available. Instead, the meat is served in pieces, so that it can be consumed immediately.

On the first several feeding, I used the spoon. After a while, my hand started scrabbling the plate in order to find the food remains which were not taken by the spoon ( I hate to leave edible leftover in my  plate, such a waste)

So, how was the food?

Well, it is because I was in the hungry condition, the food tasted good. Even so, it didn’t seem to be different with other food restaurants. The state of darkness, which was claimed to enhance the glossal tasting sensation, was not proved to be in effect for me (well, maybe it depends on the characteristic of the tongue. Mine is close enough from being insensitive :p). Besides, judging from the amount of the paid cash in the cashier, the quantity of the food is too little. With the same price, I think I can get a full-belly burping in other restaurants. The quite ambience and pitch black setting is not enjoyable for having a chat. The feeling of the chance than somebody may eavesdrop is quite troublesome.

Anyway, it was not bad for only quenching my curiosity. But overall, this place would not be my choice list for dinner, unless somebody is willing to treat me, would you? Hehe…

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Lihat versi Bahasa Indonesia

Saya tahu restoran ini dari Hamka. Dia bilang ada restoran di sekitar Pascal Hypersquare yang unik. Uniknya apa? Yaitu bersantap dalam kegelapan. Kegelapan di sini bukanlah sekedar pencahayaan ruangan yang kurang atau remang-remang cahaya lilin seadanya. Kegelapan yang dimaksud adalah kegelapan absolut tanpa adanya cahaya sedikitpun. Inget judul film yang jadi prekuelnya Chronicles of Riddick? Ya, seperti itu maksudnya.

Iseng-iseng saya menyusuri jalan Pasir Kaliki, ingin tahu, seperti apa restoran yang dimaksud. Tapi ternyata tidak ada. Belum sempat konfirmasi lagi, eh, restorannya ketemu di Ciwalk. Ya, demi memuaskan penasaran, saya coba saja makan malam di situ.

Dari kru restoran yang berjaga di counter depan, saya diberi tahu bahwa konsep restoran ini memang seperti yang dibilang Hamka. Katanya, tujuan dari pengkondisian makan dalam gelap ini adalah untuk menambah kenikmatan mulut dan lidah dalam merasakan makanan. Caranya adalah dengan memblok rangsangan pada indera penglihatan sehingga otak dapat lebih berkonsentrasi pada indera pengecap. Hal ini dapat membuat makanan terasa lebih lezat (jika dibandingkan dengan saat mata kita dapat melihat dengan leluasa seperti biasa.

Baiklah, saya pun memesan 2 porsi makan dan minuman (wew.. harganya sih terjangkau, tapi…). Kalo ga salah waktu itu saya pesan sejenis steak ayam gitu deh, lupa, maklum nama makanannya gak familiar.

Lokasi bersantapnya ada di lantai 2. Sebelum naik, kami diminta untuk menyerahkan barang-barang yang dapat mengeluarkan cahaya. Handphone, senter, geretan, adalah contoh barang-barang yang dimaksud. Daripada repot, saya keluarkan saja semua isi saku celana dan menyimpannya di loker yang sudah disediakan. Di tangga naik, kami mendapat penjelasan sedikit dari seorang pramusaji pria (dia tunanetra lho…) tentang konsep Blind Resto yang bertujuan untuk menambah kenikmatan blablabla… (seperti sudah dijelaskan di paragraf sebelumnya).

Lalu kami naik, dengan cara seperti main kereta-keretaan. Tangan saya memegang pundaknya, dan dia menuntun ke meja dan sofa tempat kami akan duduk dan makan.

Oke, ternyata memang benar-benar gelap.

Setelah duduk, mata saya langsung berakomodasi maksimum, berusaha keras mencari cahaya. Tapi nihil. Samar -samar ada sedikit cahaya terdeteksi di sebelah kiri, sepertinya sih itu pintu masuknya. Suasananya cukup hening, dalam arti tidak terdengar suara orang lain di sini. Background music-nya lagu-lagu Indonesia yang tidak baru, tapi juga tidak terlalu jadul. Sesekali terdengar suara denting logam. Mungkin pramusaji tadi sedang menyiapkan peralatan makan.

Kombinasi gelap, sepi dan hembusan AC membuat suasana terasa dingin. Sedikit menyesal karena jaket saya titipkan di loker. Tidak beberapa lama, seorang pramusaji menghampiri kami. Oh, yang ini bukan tunanetra. Dia memakai kacamata Night Vision. Ada kerlip titik cahaya merah di sekitar wajahnya. Berarti, meskipun gelap, jangan berbuat macam-macam di sini. Kenapa? Tentu saja karena disitu ada yang bisa melihat (dan ada Yang Maha Melihat). Dia membawakan minuman dan menyerahkan gelasnya langsung ke genggaman tangan kami. Tangan kami harus bergerak ekstra perlahan dan ekstra hati-hati. Kalo tumpah kan repot. Untuk meraih sedotannya pun cukup susah, takut salah masuk ke hidung, hehe… Beberapa menit kemudian, pramusaji yang tunanetra tadi menghampiri kami lagi. Kali ini, dia membawa makanan.

Nah, ini nih yang beda. Setelah makanan selesai dihidangkan, dia menjelaskan posisi makanan tersebut di piring. Kentang dan sayuran di samping kanan, daging di tengah, sausnya di sebelah atas (atau semacam itu lah, detailnya lupa lagi). Selain itu, meskipun kami memesan steak, tidak disediakan pisau untuk memotong. Hanya sendok yang tersedia. Dagingnya sudah tersaji dalam bentuk potongan-potongan, sehingga bisa langsung disantap.

Pertama-tama, memang saya makan menggunakan sendok. Tapi setelah beberapa lama, saat makanan menjelang habis, tangan kosong pun ikut turun. Takut ada makanan yang tidak teraih hanya dengan sendok saja (soalnya saya benci kalo ada makanan yang masih tersisa di piring, rugi kan?).

Lalu, bagaimana masakannya?

Yah, karena saya memang dalam keadaan lapar, jadi ya enak-enak saja. Tapi soal rasa tampaknya tidak ada bedanya dengan resto-resto yang lain. Suasana gelap yang diklaim bisa menambah sensasi rasa pada lidah ternyata tidak terbukti pada saya (itu sih memang dasar lidahnya aja yang ga sensitif ). Selain itu, untuk harga yang dibayarkan, kok porsinya terlalu sedikit? Padahal dengan harga yang sama, rasanya saya bisa cukup kenyang di resto-resto beken yang lain. Lalu, suasananya yang gelap dan hening juga tidak mengasikkan buat ngobrol. Gimana klo ada yang nguping? ‘Kan ga enak?

Yah, tapi cukup lumayan lah jika untuk sekedar memuaskan rasa penasaran. Tapi, buat saya, resto ini bukan tempat pilihan untuk makan malam, kecuali kalo ada yang ngebayarin, hehe..

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See the English Version

The ablution facility for men and women are separated properly. For women, some bathrooms are provided. For men, while doing ablution, one can enjoy the view of southern part of Bandung city.

Because its location is on the top of 8-floors building, which is clearly exposed to open air, the visitor can have a pleasure of seeing the view of the city to all direction. Though that is very unfortunate for it is not much to see other than the crowded commercial and urban residence.

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Lihat versi Bahasa Indonesia

Tempat wudhunya terpisah antara laki-laki dan perempuan. Untuk perempuan, disediakan kamar mandi. Untuk laki-laki, sambil berwudlu, bisa menikmati pemandangan kota bandung sebelah selatan.

Karena letaknya yang berada di puncak gedung yang terbuka ke udara bebas, pengunjung Pasar Baru bisa mendapatkan pemandangan kota Bandung ke segala arah. Meskipun sebenarnya tidak banyak yang bisa dilihat kecuali kepadatan pemukiman sekitar.

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See the English Version

Acara pencoblosannya sendiri diadakan di sebuah lapangan terbuka sekitar satu blok dari rumahku. Saat aku sampai di sana, baru sedikit orang yang hadir. Mereka semua adalah anggota panitia, termasuk ayahku. Meskipun acaranya belum dimulai, aku menyerahkan kartu dan undangan pemilih kepada seseorang yang duduk di dekat pintu masuk. Dia memberikan aku secarik kertas kecil bertuliskan angka “1″. Rupanya, aku ini pemilih pertama. Lalu, aku duduk di salah satu kursi yang disediakan dan mulai mengambil foto dengan HP ku. Kira-kira beberapa menit kemudian, ibuku dan salah seorang tetangga kami tiba, mengambil tiket antrian dan duduk di depanku.

Saat melihat bahwa telah ada 3 calon pemilih yang hadir ditempat, ketua panitia memutuskan untuk secara resmi membuka acara tersebut, dimulai dengan prosesi pengambilan sumpah dari setiap anggota panitia. Setelah itu, dilanjutkan dengan menunjukkan kotak suara yang masih tersegel rapat kepada semua orang yang hadir. Kemudian, mereka memeriksa kelengkapan dari semua hal yang berhubungan dengan rangkaian proses pemilihan suara, seperti jumlah kertas suara, ketersediaan tinta, dan juga alat pencoblos. Setelah semuanya diperiksa dan lengkap, ketua panitia menjelaskan dan mendemonstrasikan prosedur bagaimana cara mencoblos yang benar.

Setelah semuanya lengkap, dia memanggilku sebagai orang dengan nomor urut pertama. Aku bangkit dari tempat dudukku, menerima kertas suara dan berjalan ke arah bilik suara. Aku mencoblos satu dari 3 nomor yang tercantum dalam kertas. Setelah itu, aku melipat kertasnya dan membawanya untuk diperlihatkan ke pemeriksa (yang kebetulan adalah ayahku) dan memasukannya ke dalam kotak suara. Aku berjalan ke meja kedua dan mencelupkan jari kelingkingku ke dalam botol tinta.

Dan… selesai. aku cepat-cepat pulang ke rumah.

(umm… pasangan yang aku pilih, ternyata menang.)

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See the English Version

Aku ga nyangka kalo posting pertamaku di WP adalah tentang Pilkada ini

Yah, mo gimana lagi, aku kecewa banget pas tahu Arsenal kalah (lagi) dari MU (hmmph.. ngapain aja sih, Mas Wenger) dan itu cukup buat bikin aku jadi ga bisa tidur. Makanya, jadi pingin nulis-nulis sesuatu neh…

Lalu, sesuai dengan judulnya, Pilkada ini dilangsungkan untuk memilih 2 orang untuk menjabat Gubernur dan Wakil Gubernur Jawa Barat. Hari ini adalah hari pemungutan suaranya setelah seluruh rangkaian kampanye dilaksanakan yang dimulai dengan pengenalan para calon tanggal 23 Februari 2008 lalu. Aku inget banget tanggal ini karena saat itu aku lagi ikut acara ini.

Aku bukannya mo nulis tentang pilkadanya, kampanyenya, atau visi-misi dari para kandidatnya. Yang mo aku tulis cuma kegiatan kecil pemungutan suara di daerah tempat tinggalku.

Hari Minggu itu, aku bangun seperti biasa, Shalat Shubuh, lalu langsung nempel di depan komputer, ngenet. Jam 6, pa aku lagi milih-milih bangunan apa yang mo aku bikin di Tribal Wars, ayahku tiba-tiba muncul. Beliau bilang, waktu pemungutan suara bakal dimulai jam 7 pagi dan aku harus ada disana sebelum jam segitu. Aku bilang, ngapain aku harus di sana pagi-pagi, bukan panitia ini (saat itu ayahku memang jadi panitia). Beliau bilang lagi, biar acaranya bisa mulai, harus ada minimal 2 calon pemilih yang hadir. Menurut beliau, pagi-pagi gini mah ga ada yang bakal hadir. Karena itu, beliau meminta aku dan ibuku untuk jadi pemilih pertama (soalnya adikku masih terlelap di kasurnya).

Ya sudahlah. Segera aku menyambar handuk dan melenggang ke kamar mandi. Sebenarnya sih, aku ga berencana untuk mandi sepagi ini, karena biasanya aku suka berenang dulu.

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See the English version

The voting event was held in a small open space approximately one block away from my house. By the time I arrived there, only few people were there. They were all the member of the voting committee, including my father. The voting process was not even started yet. Even so, I handed over my voter card and the voting invitation to the man near the entrance. He gave me a queue ticket mentioning “1″ on it. The first voter I was. Then I was just sitting nicely on one of the provided chairs and started taking some pictures using my cellphone. A few minutes later, my mother and one of our neighbors came, took the queue number as well and sitting in front of me.

Having seeing three voters in the place, the head of the committee decided to officially open the events. It was started by taking the pledge of all members of the committee. It was continued by showing the sealed collecting box to all audience. After that, the committee was checking the completeness of all things pertaining to the voting process, like the quantity of the vote papers, the availability of inks, and the piercing tools. After everything was checked, he then explained the procedures by giving some demonstrations on what voter should and should not do during the voting process.

After all were settled, he then called me as the first person to vote. I raised from my seat, received the vote paper from him, and walked to the voting chamber. I put a small hole on one of the three numbers in the papers. After that, I folded the paper and bring it to the examiner (which was my father) and put it on the vote-collecting box. I walked to the second table, put my litter finger in one of the ink bottle.

Finished, I immediately went home.

(err.. the pair which I had chosen, turn out to be the winners.)

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Lihat versi Bahasa Indonesia

I’d never wonder that my first posting in WP would be an article of this Event.

However, my deep disappointment on Arsenal’s defeat against MU (Arrrgghh… what’s wrong with ya, Wenger) has made me become quite insomnia (it’s 1 am), that in return, I feel a keen interest in writing anything.

Anyway, this event, as mentioned in the title, was held to elect 2 people as Governor and Vice-Governor in West Java Province. Today was the final vote as the whole champaign had already started since the introduction of the candidates on 23 February 2008. I remember this date correctly due to the special event I took on that day.

I feel a great negligence in writing about the champaign, the main election, or the vision-mission of the candidates. What I’m going to write is the small events of voting process in my area.

That Sunday morning, I woke up as usual, take my Shubuh Salat, and turn my focus on the net. 6 o’clock, as I still considering which building I should construct in Tribal Wars, my father knocked my room. He told me that the vote process will be held at 7 am and that I should be there before that. I said, why I should be there very early, I was not the member of the committee (but my father was). He said that, in order to begin the vote, there should be at least 2 voters in place, which in his prediction, no one will show up this early. That’s why he asked me and my mother to be the first voters (because my brother still drowning in his bed).

Oh well, what to do. I quickly grabbed my towel and went straight away to the bathroom. Actually I do not plan to bath immediately, as I usually go swimming firstly in the morning.

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Lihat versi Bahasa Indonesia