Ice cream lovers around the world should be giving their utmost adoration to the inventor of the liquid nitrogen ice-cream. This cooking technique is often classified under molecular gastronomy as it is seen as the merging of science and culinary arts.

Aside from the cool smoke that it gives off that makes you feel like you are in a science laboratory, the use of liquid nitrogen cuts the preparation time for ice cream dramatically; from 5 hours to a very short 2 minutes.

The liquid nitrogen ice-cream is all about chemistry. Instead of the arduous task of making ice cream using the conventional mix and freeze technique, liquid nitrogen is poured into a standing mixer consisting of the ice cream mixture which is still in liquid form.

Due to its chemical characteristics, liquid nitrogen (at -197 degree Celsius) freezes anything it touches, causing the mixture to freeze instantaneously. Due to this flash freeze, the milk molecules remain small and water particles don’t have time to grow into ice crystals. In plain English, this means that you will get a smoother and creamier ice cream.

Yes guys, science is definitely “cool”. 

Similar to the much raved Ice Cream Lab in Los Angeles and N2 Extreme Gelato in Sydney, we are proud to say that Jakarta too has a few of its own.

The Fat Corner was invited to the Media Tasting Event for Elicxir Artisan Gelato pop-up store in Plaza Indonesia.

First on the testing menu is from their classic menu; Banana Gelato with Holland Honey Gingerbread Cookies.

Our PrincessFiona, absolutely loved this. The banana infused gelato was flavourful and authentic, complemented well by the salty cinnamon flavour of the cookie.

The texture of the gelato was a perfect balance of firm and creamy and she particularly liked how the crushed cookies gave a contrasting crunchy texture to the gelato.

This was no ordinary banana ice cream.

Then came their seasonal item (changes on the 14^th of every month) : Everything About Marie, which is Marie Regal infused gelato with Marie soft bits and Marie Regal biscuits.

This became FidoDido’s favourite as it was on the sweeter side (almost caramel flavour) compared to the other flavours, satisfying his sweet tooth.

The second seasonal item introduced is Toast My Jam, a French Toast Gelato with Srikaya Jam (served in a syringe). A daring flavour for a gelato.

FidoDido who normally stays clear of Srikaya flavoured food, found this one a hit rather than a miss, though he felt that a little extra fragrance would make the Srikaya jam all the more good.

The final seasonal item is Love on Top, a Red Rum Gelato layered with Strawberry Milk (heart shaped) Gelato, topped with cream cheese foam and red velvet cookies.

Out of all the ice-cream that we tried today, we agreed that this has a slightly artificial taste and makes it our least preferred. Adding real strawberry bits would probably improve the taste.

On the plus side, this one looked the prettiest. I am sure you would agree.

Lastly, we were given a sneak peak to an item that may be potentially introduced into their menu; Eclairs filled with Milo Gelato.

The choux pastry is one of the best we have tried around; crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. However, PrincessFiona reckons that the banana gelato would make a better filling.

Elicxir Artisan Gelato definitely made the top in our Jakarta nitrogen ice cream list. Given that it is a pop up store, it will only be in Plaza Indonesia for another four months.

So come try it for yourself before it moves!

Food: |**** |          Ambience: |****  |         Price: |$$     |

Opening hours: Sun-Sat 10 am-10 pm

Location: Plaza Indonesia Extension Lv 5 #019, Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav 28-30

Telephone: +6221 2992 3717

Posted by FidoDido & PrincessFiona