London's First Nitrogen Ice Cream Parlour / “液氮“冰淇淋店

If eating great tasting deserts with a unique twist sounds like a great experience to you then I may have found the perfect place for you. A hidden gem If ever there was one, Chin Chin Labs ice cream factory is located in Camden Lock near to the entrance of the actual market itself and features liquid nitrogen ice cream.

I had the pleasure of visiting there a few days ago and it turned out to be very interesting indeed. They are open every day from the hours of twelve in the afternoon to seven in the evening. The equipment needed to create the delicious ice cream behind the counter looked more like a chemistry lab outfit than an ice cream parlour. The great thing is you can see the process they go through in making your dessert while you wait.

The shop is quite small consisting of three medium-sized round tables where a few people can sit. White vapours literally pour out of the machine when the ice cream is being created as the temperature when the nitrogen boils will get down to as low as -195 Celsius. It reminds me of something out of a horror movie or better still, the Michael Jackson Thriller video! I asked one of the staff working there and she told me they spend more time maintaining and cleaning the various complicated equipment than actually producing the delicious dessert!

The apparatus in the shop requires a special license as well as the employees needing to be trained in order to handle such equipment as liquid nitrogen can be very harmful if not used with care. Any extended contact made with human skin can cause permanent damage because of those ridiculously low temperatures of the nitrogen, such as “cold burns”. Gloves and safety glasses need to be worn at all times to prevent any accidents from happening. The icy temperatures, however, are the secret that makes the ice cream taste so great. How it works is that it rapidly freezes the mixture on contact preventing fat and water particles from expanding and thus maintaining its thick, creamy texture.

They have a selection of three classic flavours to choose from which are: Vanilla Pod，Valrhona Chocolate and Burnt Butter Caramel. There are also two special ice cream flavours: Blackcurrant & coconut foam and earl grey tea & marmite toast.

We chose the Vanilla Pod, Brown-wich, Cookie-wich and hot chocolate!! You’re probably wondering how two people can consume so much dessert just after dinner, but believe me, it was that good!! The ice cream did not disappoint, it tastes unlike anything I’ve ever tried before in that it was very rich, creamy and smooth!

Vanilla Pod

The Brown-wich

The Cookie-wich

Hot Chocolate

Liquid nitrogen ice cream (known more commonly as “Nitro”) is a relatively new concept in terms of being sold in retail outlets. Therefore there are not many around for now. But I’m sure as time goes on, more and more people will be drawn into the delights of enjoying these yummy, creamy frozen treats and eventually become more mainstream.

I’m sure “Nitro” is not limited to just the UK so look out for other shops in your local area and enjoy what could possibly be the best tasting ice cream you’ve ever had!

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如果你喜欢品尝新品种甜点，那伦敦有一个好去处你一定会喜欢。位于Camden Lock市场入口处的“Chin Chin” 化学实验室/雪糕工厂的一大招牌就是“液氮“冰淇淋，因为这里的冰激凌都是用液氮冷却制成的。

几天前我去了一趟，确实是不同寻常的有趣体验。他们一周7天每天都开，从中午12点到晚上7点。柜台后面这些制作美味冰激凌所需要的设备看起来更像一个化学实验室成套设备，而不是冰激凌店。更让人兴奋的是，你可以亲眼目睹自己雪糕的制作过程！

店面其实不大，有三个中等大小的圆桌，只有不到10个人的座位。在冰激凌的制作过程中，白色蒸汽逐渐从机器中倒出，当氮气沸腾时，温度骤降至-195摄氏度。这让我想起了一部恐怖片“Michael Jackson Thriller video”。和那里的一个工作人员聊天，她告诉我，其实他们花比制作冰激凌更多的时间来维护和清洁各种复杂的设备！

由于这些特殊设备，不但店里需要申请专门的许可证，连店员们都需要经过严格的训练来使用这些具有危险性的器材。由于液氮的超低温度，任何与人体皮肤接触时间稍长都可能导致永久性损伤，例如“冷灼伤”。员工们必须保持佩戴手套和安全眼镜，以防止发生任何事故。然而，这也是让冰激凌变得如此美味的诀窍。液氮在接触时迅速冻结混合物，防止脂肪和水颗粒膨胀，从而保持其醇厚奶油口感。

冰激凌有五种经典口味供选择：香草味, 巧克力和焦糖奶油味。另外还提供两种特殊口味，包括黑加仑加椰子和茶叶加吐司味，够特别吧，呵呵！

我们选了香草口味雪糕，布朗尼“三文治”，曲奇“三文治”和热巧克力！你可能会问，两个人能吃这么多甜点吗? 确实是这么好吃，呵呵。冰激凌并没有让人失望，和我以前吃过的的确不同， 它口感非常滑顺浓郁，奶油味十足！

液氮冰淇淋是在零售店销售里 是一个相对新的概念，所以并没有太多这样的店。 但我相信越来越多的人会被被这超级美味的“液氮“冰淇淋吸引，并最终成为主流。

“液氮“冰淇淋不仅限于英国，要留意您本地区的有没有其他分店哦，并一起来享受这有可能是你品尝过最好的冰淇淋！