Add custom icon for bloat menu

I'm trying to add an icon to a menu (because it looks boring)

my menu xml:

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
    <item
        android:id="@+id/action_about"
        android:orderInCategory="200"
        android:showAsAction="never"
        android:icon="@drawable/icon"
        android:title="About" />
    <item
        android:id="@+id/action_help"
        android:orderInCategory="200"
        android:showAsAction="never"
        android:icon="@drawable/help"
        android:title="Help" />
    <item
        android:id="@+id/action_rate"
        android:orderInCategory="300"
        android:showAsAction="never"
        android:title="Rate This App"
        android:icon="@drawable/star" />
    <item
        android:id="@+id/action_quit"
        android:orderInCategory="400"
        android:showAsAction="never"
        android:title="Quit"
        android:icon="@drawable/quit" />

</menu>

Part of the Java code:

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);

    //Set icon for the menu button
    Drawable icon = getResources().getDrawable(R.drawable.icon);
    menu.getItem(0).setIcon(icon);

    return true;
}

I still don't see the icon on the menu. I'm running phone and AVD 4.2+. Has Google removed menu icon support?