THE moment I stepped into the Ten-Joy restaurant, I wanted to leave. My friend and I were handcuffed by a waitress dressed in pink leather skirts like a cute detective in a Japanese cartoon. She opened a gate leading to a small room and asked us to walk into it unescorted, passing a hanging bridge under dark lights.

My companion boldly opened a door in the opposite wall while I hid behind him, and a gust of fog rolled out. By this time we were both expecting some horrific scene, but fortunately, nothing popped out at us. We finally made it into the restaurant, which surprisingly we found to be very like a prison.

It was dark and each compartment was like a jail cell. Waiters were dressed in convict uniforms, while the waitresses wore maid's uniforms which at times made them look like vampires in the ghastly atmosphere.

The Chinese name of the eatery means "heaven", but I never want to die if heaven is really like that. On the contrary, it seemed more like hell.

Surprisingly, the restaurant was full of visitors that night. Suddenly, all the lights went out and noise and screaming came out of speakers. Four people wearing masks and ghost costumes appeared from corners of the restaurant and walked up to the cowering diners who did not know what was happening. Lovely waitresses had become scary apparition because the lace on their clothes and hats were giving off a frightful glitter under the fluorescent lights. This trick lasted 10 minutes.

It might be a good place to go on Halloween, but I probably won't go there again. My already negative impression of the restaurant was exacerbated by the terrible food, possibly as bad as that in the real hell.

The restaurant claimed to provide Chinese, Western and Japanese food, and it proved to be the worst I've ever tried.

Even the dishes were presented in horrific style. The "Snowman" (made of mashed potatoes) was "bleeding" (actually the blood was blueberry sauce) and the "death penalty fish" were "burned at the stake" over a small open fire at the table.

As a gimmick, this macabre way of presenting food may work for some, but it definitely didn't work for me.

Ten-Joy Originality Restaurant & Bar

2F, 495 Jiangning Lu

Tel: 5115-6766

80 yuan per person (US$10)