Skip the usual Valentine's dinner-for-two plan; dine in the dark or aboard a luxury cruise liner instead.
Valentine's Day. It will either draw sighs of dreamy pleasure or horrified cringes depending on what you have planned on that day. The typical agenda would be a nice evening out with your special someone spent perhaps gazing into each other's eyes over a romantic candle light dinner. While safe, it can also be predictable, or worse, boring.
Keep things fresh with something your other half would not have seen coming. Here we have listed 5 unconventional and much more exciting ways to show and celebrate your love this February 14.
Dining in the dark
Dine in total pitch darkness guided only by your intuition and some help from its staff who themselves are also visually-impaired. You'll be surprised to discover food in a whole new light when it's only your tastebuds at work. For a truly sightless experience, anything that glows or emits the smallest bit of light, like cellphones and watches, is required to be put away in a locker outside before you are guided into the dining hall with your hands on each other shoulders. Worry not that you'll knock glasses over or be unable to find your food throughout the evening; your waiter will be there to guide you through course by course of the set menu, which also happens to change every month to keep you on your toes no matter how many times you visit. Here is the perfect opportunity to get to know your food and your partner beyond appearances alone.
Dining in the Dark, 50, Changkat Bukit Bintang, 50200, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03 - 2110 0431 Website: www.dininginthedarkkl.com
Horse-riding
Not many things paint a romantic setting quite like horses. From horse-drawn carriages to knights that ride into battle on their faithful stallions, the presence of horses has always injected any story with a hazy filter of romance. Take your partner horse-riding to really up the romance factor this Valentine's before settling in to either a buffet or set course dinner to your preferred choice at Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort.
Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort, Jalan Bukit Kiara, off Jalan Damansara, 60000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03 - 2093 1222 Website: www.berjayaclubs.com/kiara
Take a cruise out to sea
The sea beckons with its breathtaking sunset and serenity miles out from civilisation. Star Cruises, the leading cruise liner in all of Asia Pacific offers three classes of cruising, each with its own distinct quality. They come fully equipped with restaurants, gyms, spas, lounges, and karaoke rooms so you'll have a whole array of activities lined up to engage in with your special someone. The onboard restaurants serve up delectable food all around the clock so you will be spoilt for dining choices if indeed that dinner for two by candlelight is a must. With cruises leaving from a variety of ports all across Malaysia -- Klang, Penang and Langkawi among them -- spend a full weekend (or more) out at sea for an experience that is unlike anything you can find on land.
Tel: +91 (11) 2527 9385 Website: www.starcruise.org
Retreat to a private villa
Valentine's Day is all about you and your other half and what better way to distance yourself from all the distractions of life and focus only on one another than an escape from the city just the two of you? Villa Samadhi is a beautiful retreat in a posh neighbourhood built to evoke the sense of being on a private villa of your own. Spend quiet time together lounging by the pool or indulging in its spa before tucking into a lavish dinner featuring a variety of local and international cuisines at its Tamarind restaurants.
Villa Samadhi, No 8, Jalan Madge, 55000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 - 2143 2300 Website: www.villasamadhi.com.my
Dine in someone else's home
If eating out does not appeal to you, what about enjoying homecooked food at somewhere less commercial, like someone else's home? Supper clubs are plenty through which you can book lunches or dinner to eat at the residence of hosts. It is a great way to not only sample a variety of food cooked the authentic way, you might just make a new friend or two as well. PlateCulture is once such platform through which you can review and then accordingly pick whose homes you'd like to dine at based on the type of cuisine. You can even sign up and host guests yourself if it fancies you.
Tel: 011 - 1232 7183 Website: www.plateculture.com
Do something a little more extraordinary this Valentine's. Think out of the box.
- Marini's on 57's Valentine's Day menu comes at a cool RM1,999++ - here's what you'll get [review]
- Tiffany & Co's Valentine's gift guide will solve your Valentine's shopping woes