-5 Celsius?

Heard of ice bars? There is one in London and many other countries, however this section of my blog is about ice themed restaurants! This particular restaurant is the first ice lounge in the middle east opened in June 2007 in Dubai and is named as "Chill Out". As you may know, Dubai is one of the hottest countries with a constant temperature of 40 Celsius during the day and this is why it is hard to believe that they have a temperature of-5 Celsius inside the restaurant! Most of the restaurant is made out of ice including the chairs, tables, plates and glasses! The chairs or covered with sheep skin rugs for the customers warmth and comfort. You get to sit on ice chairs and eat your food off ice tables on ice plates using ice cutlery whilst having your drink in ice glasses! This ice restaurant only hold up to 45 people to make sure the body heat do not damage the ice blocks.

The restaurant has three areas which include the lobby and the dining areas, these areas are separated by a "buffer zone". As the customers arrive they are greeted in the lobby and given thermal wear to prepare them for the cold temperatures which include a hooded jacket, gloves and a pair of shoes. Guests spend some time in the buffer zone which has a temperature of around 5 Celsius to prepare them for the minus conditions in the dining areas. This is advised as the temperature drop from 40 Celsius to-5 Celsius all of a sudden can be a shock to the body! There is a choice of hot or cold food and beverages to order from or you can get your drinks from the bar which is also made out of ice! However, this restaurant is non-alcoholic to respect the muslim culture.  is The restaurant is decorated with ice sculptures and even the chandeliers are made out of ice blocks! 

The lighting in this restaurant are all LED lights which do not produce much heat at all which is ideal for all the ice not to melt! They also change colour every few minutes to set different moods. It cost around 9 million Dirhams to put this restaurant together and all the ice work was completed in Canada by "Iceculture Inc" which was then shipped to Dubai and took around a year and a half to complete the entire restaurant! This would be an amazing experience that I would definitely try out if I had the chance, however I don't know if I would enjoy a drink such as a hot chocolate that would go cold in minutes! It would also be a bit of a challenge to get comfortable with a heavy jacket on me and I would think there would be some difficulty in holding a drink or using cutlery with such thick gloves on!