Liquid Nitrogen meet Honeycomb…

So I have heard mixed reviews about Alchemy.

Some were good, friends who were amazed by the desserts, or the unique display of the entree.

Some were bad, OK bad is the incorrect term. No one ever said alchemy was bad. Some people said they didn’t think it was worth the amount you pay for it. The desserts were good though.

A trend perhaps.

The only part of anybodies review of Alchemy that was consistent. The desserts were amazing.

Guess what…

That’s 100 percent accurate.

I have found a new favourite dessert. I am no longer that bugged about the lack of freeze dried bees in Detour’s dessert. I will admit, nothing can top the crunch of the sweet tasting bee, I apologise to the bee lovers out there but they are really tasty. Alchemy’s truffle honey panna cotta , is really close though.

It wasn’t very big. It was very pretty though. The taste was incredible. It was this beautiful blend of creamy panna cotta and chocolate glass. There was more to it than that but these are the important bits. The panna cotta itself was topped with a thin  layer of truffle honey, which I think something may have been mixed into it to help retain the shape. The chocolate glass was my favourite bit. OK, I thought this was some sort of dark toffee, based on the texture and the brittleness of it. It was very, very delicate and when you took a bite, it crackled in your mouth. It was like popping candy, without being popping candy. On it’s own it was great, mixed with the panna cotta it was amazing. I’ll say it again, it was a small dish, but that is OK, as the flavours made up for the size.

I also did the Liquid Nitrogen Experience with Chef, Gastronomic Nibbles.

I don’t think I can emphasise this is enough, DO THIS. If you go to Alchemy, do this. It is ten dollars well spent.

I am not sure if it is different every time, but my nibbles were honeycomb, coconut and lime cream, and coffee and baileys cream.

The coffee and baileys was like eating soft, airy ice cream. The baileys over powered the coffee, not by much though. Also, it was so cold that it was a little like eating something very warm. I instinctively blew on it, because it was an extreme temperature. After a second I realised what I was doing and ate it. The outside was slightly crunchy (crunchy is not really correct, but it is the closest thing I can think of to describe it, and firm and delicate only just occurred to me) and the inside was fluffy and very creamy.

The coconut and lime cream came out like a mousse, with a firm delicate crust (AHA insert this description in the description of the coffees and baileys). It had just enough lime that it didn’t hit straight away, but when it did it wasn’t overpowering. While I have had frozen mousse before I think this was the first time it was deliberate, and not a happy accident. When I bit into this it crumbled, like a meringue, I attempted to catch the crumbs as I didn’t want to lose any of it. I didn’t succeed in getting all of it, but I got most of it.

The honeycomb was my favourite. It was the sort of honeycomb you make, not stolen from bees. It was in already in a cube, and then dipped into the liquid nitrogen for a while. After being informed it was made in the kitchen, I was wondering how much more crunchy could you make. It shattered when I bit it, in a really pleasant way. I felt the shards of honeycomb hit my tongue and melt. It was divine, but that wasn’t the best bit. The best bit was that when you breathed out there was a cloud of vapour. Not a quick puff, but almost the whole time you were eating the honeycomb. This was so much fun to eat.

I got a main and an appetiser as well. The duck (main) was very good, and the whipped goats cheese (appetiser) was milder than I usually like it, but they were good. I really enjoyed the whole thing. Go, it’s expensive but good and I am now going to have some ice cream.

Blah blah blah eat well etc.