Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream: A Delicious Treat At Chin Chin Labs

[caption id="attachment_690" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Watching the making of the ice-cream is quite an experience[/caption]

I have wanted to visit Chin Chin Labs in Camden Lock for ages. After all, who wouldn't want to go to Europe's only Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Parlour?

Consequently, I was very excited to visit the shop yesterday with mum and a friend, and couldn't wait to get stuck in to a mouth-watering tub of ice cream. First of all, we had to actually find the shop - Camden Town is a busy, bustling mecca of shops and stalls which is incredibly difficult to navigate! We walked through a market full of amazing clothes, went past a countless amount of vegan and health stores and marvelled at some hanging mobiles which looked spectacular in the wind. Camden is a brilliant shopping destination, as there are just so many shops and something for everyone.

[caption id="attachment_691" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Chin Chin Labs is in Camden, North London[/caption]

We finally stumbled upon Chin Chin Labs, and spent ages deciding on which flavour to try. The shop has two regular flavours - Pondicherry Vanilla and Valrhona Chocolate - and two specials which change weekly. When we went, these were Tonka Pineapple and Fig Jam Doughnut (£3.95 each with a sauce/topping included). Something else that looked delicious was called the Brown-Wich, which is their vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two brownie cookies (£4.95). The store also makes coffee, hot chocolate, juice and sells toppings in bags, such as honeycomb and caramelised pretzels.

[caption id="attachment_692" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The ice-cream bases are prepared in liquid form and the nitrogen is added to freeze it straightaway[/caption]

Our ice creams were made right in front of our eyes, which was incredible! The shop is like a chemistry lab as the basic liquids are taken and liquid nitrogen added to freeze it quickly. There were clouds of steam billowing everywhere, and I felt as if I was in a science fiction film. The liquid was churned to an ice cream consistency with a mixer in seconds, and the experience was phenomenal. It's the kind of thing they do in very posh restaurants, but I don't get to go to many of those, so it was entirely new to me.

[caption id="attachment_693" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Doughnut ice cream with fig jam, and dairy free Tonka pineapple sorbet - both delicious![/caption]

Soon enough, the freshly made ice cream was scooped into a cup, ready to eat. I had chosen Fig Jam Doughnut flavour, so my ice cream tasted of doughnuts and was topped with a delicious fig mixture. Both my friend and mum chose grilled white chocolate to top their Tonka Pineapple and chocolate flavour ice creams, and we soon  got stuck in.

I honestly had some of the best ice cream of my life - the flavour was so unique and different and there were no ice crystals as it had been frozen really quickly. I would absolutely love to come back another week and try out some of the new flavours.

[caption id="attachment_694" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We scraped out all the ice-cream we could find![/caption]

Overall, Chin Chin Labs is an amazing place to visit and you should definitely give it a go if you are in the area. Seeing it being made right in front of us was just amazing, and the ice cream was fantastic. Yes, it is expensive, but the experience and quality of ice cream more than makes up for it. I will definitely be bringing more of my friends in the future!

Read more about food by me...

The Chocolate Festival: my heaven!

A Delicious Sally Lunn Bun

A Lovely Breakfast in London

Three Amazing Places to Eat in Bristol With Kids

Bangs, berets and being undercover at the Royal Gunpowder Mills

Jess says: A few weeks ago, Robert, dad and I visited The Royal Gunpowder Museum in Waltham Abbey. We were to be undercover judges for the Kids in Museums Family Friendly Award 2014, and as we walked in, I felt exhilarated. Having had a thorough look at the Kids in Museums Manifesto in the car, the three of us had a lot to look out for. In fact, I actually felt like a secret agent as we got our tickets from the booth!

After being in the museum for less than half an hour, we realised that we were in somewhere very special indeed. When we entered the main exhibition, we were personally greeted by a man who told us what we could do, where to go and the history of the mills. I was extremely impressed, and rather excited - this kind of thing does not normally happen when you go to museums!

[caption id="attachment_678" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Trying out the guns...[/caption]

The exhibition in itself was wonderful; it was really interactive, and there was loads to touch, twist and watch. Something I especially enjoyed was learning how gunpowder is made with an interactive screen. I loved how many things we were allowed to touch, especially when we went into the armoury. There were loads of guns to hold and hats to try on.

[caption id="attachment_676" align="aligncenter" width="768"] At The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey[/caption]

Robert says: There was so much more to the Royal Gunpowder Mills than just the main exhibition. There was so much to do that I can’t pick my favourite thing! A bit that I really enjoyed was the first activity that we did, which was creating our own paper rockets and launching them. We followed instructions on the table before walking into a big field and sticking our rockets onto something which we pumped up. When we pressed the green button, it shot off into the air. We aimed to hit the target, which was a big rocket. My one didn’t go anywhere near it!

We went to two science shows, which were fantastic and really cool. The first one that we saw was called “Kaboom!” and it was aimed at little kids, but I still liked lots of the experiments. The person who ran it was really nice and friendly, and there were lots of bangs.

The second one was my favourite. It was a pyrotechnics show and it was supposed to be outside, but it was raining, so they cleverly managed to bring it inside. The show involved fire, flames, explosions and lots of covering our ears. I liked it because we got really close to the fire and I really liked the machines that they used.

The Nerf and the Air Soft firing ranges were awesome! For the Nerf range, we were given two minutes inside a little room and had a Nerf gun with eight bullets. We shot the guns at the targets, which were balloons, monsters and moons. The Air Soft range wasn’t as fun for me, because it was really hard to get to grips with the gun. We were given a really big gun and goggles, and we had to shoot it at tiny targets. Although it was difficult, it was still lots of fun.

[caption id="attachment_679" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We loved the experiments[/caption]


Jess says: We all had a brilliant time at the Royal Gunpowder Mills. There was so much to do, and we haven’t even mentioned all of it in this post! There was a fascinating film theatre, loads of experiments to try out and even a night vision bomb disposal, where we put on night vision glasses and had to find all of the bombs.

What made this museum so special was that everyone was really friendly, and willing to talk to us. The staff shared their own experiences, and were happy to answer questions and give us extra information. This was something which does not always happen at museums, but it made our experience so much more unique and interesting.

[caption id="attachment_680" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Looking good in the berets![/caption]

Overall, we all had an amazing time and loved being undercover judges. Not only did we feel like sleuths and thought more about the experience afterwards than we would usually do, it also encouraged us to go to a place we wouldn’t normally visit, and ended up loving! It was a fantastic day.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills is open daily during school & bank Holidays and also has events for Halloween and Guy Fawkes.

A family ticket for two adults and two children costs £30.60. If you book online for single tickets, you get 10 percent off, so it costs £8.55 for adults and £6.75 for kids. 

Interested in living history? Check out what we thought of Beamish. 

Harry Potter, Platform 9 3/4 and the new King's Cross

[caption id="attachment_643" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Robert being Harry Potter![/caption]

I grew up in London, and, while it was (and is) a city full of fantastic places to explore, the King's Cross area wasn't one of those places. In fact, instead of being a "must go" area, it was more of a "must avoid", with a reputation for drug pushing, prostitution and gangs.

Now all that seems to have changed. In fact, the area has been so regenerated that it is unrecognisable. And that can only be a good thing.

I have no idea how much of this is due to a fictional wizard! I am guessing that is is coincidental, but it has to help with the visitors...

King's Cross station has always been a major transport hub, but probably wasn't famous worldwide until a certain Harry Potter took the train from there to Hogwarts. Not slow to realise that this could be a tourist attraction, there is now a proper Platform 9 3/4 at the station (I say proper, but you can't actually catch a train from it, as far as I know) and also an extremely busy Harry Potter shop.

The platform bit is basically a photo experience, but if you are on the Harry Potter hunt, then this is a must-visit. You essentially queue up, put on a scarf and are photographed pushing your trolley into a wall! The whole thing is nicely organised, with stewards to ensure no pushing. Professional photographs are also taken, although there is no obligation to buy (you view these in the shop).

[caption id="attachment_645" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Jess in Ravenclaw scarf at Platform 9 3/4, on her way to Hogwarts![/caption]

Be warned, however, that the queues are extremely long, and you should arrive early if this is on your list of London must-dos. We waited around 35 minutes this summer, but that was before 10am. By the time we left the queue was extremely long. AND there is also a queue to go into the shop, which seems crazy, especially if you are in a rush and have a train to catch! We came back later to look around the shop and see our professional photos and they had already been erased..... However, we did purchase some hideous Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, and my son delighted in trying out everything from grass to vomit flavour (I declined).

[caption id="attachment_646" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The Harry Potter Shop at King's Cross, London - be warned you have to queue to get in here too![/caption]

But back to King's Cross itself. If you come out of the back of the station, walk past the swing which looks like it's in Hedwig's cage, and walk towards Granary Square, you will see that building works are still ongoing. However, you can still enjoy yourself in London's newest square, sit by the canal and watch the world (and canal boats) go by, or buy food from the many stalls that appear each lunchtime. We tried delicious falafel and sweet potato chips and were extremely happy with them!

[caption id="attachment_647" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Robert enjoying the fountains at Granary Square, London[/caption]

There are also some posher restaurants around Granary Square (which is the same size as Trafalgar Square!) along with a number of offices, as well as some fantastic fountains. When we went we were amazed by the numbers of children enjoying themselves by running in and out of these. I sat back in a deckchair with my paper and Robert had a brilliant time. The fountains also light up at night, which makes them spectacular.

We felt that this was a kind of hidden gem in London, with a lovely feel to it. It's built where barges once unloaded their goods and surrounded by buildings including the University of the Arts.

But that's not all of it. There are also many activities on in the area, for kids and the whole family, and including an outdoor sports pitch, and a number of festivals. This weekend, for example, there is a free family weekend celebrating the golden age of steam engines.

We visited the House of Illustration, just round the corner from Granary Square, where we really enjoyed an exhibition about the wonderful Quentin Blake, who's most famous for illustrating Roald Dahl's books (and now David Walliams' as well). This finishes on November 2nd, and it was lovely. Robert and I really enjoyed it, although we thought it was a little bit pricey at £7 for adults and £4 for children.

[caption id="attachment_644" align="aligncenter" width="940"] View of King's Cross London[/caption]

So, that's King's Cross, even without telling you about the walking tours, viewing platforms and more. It's well worth a visit, and is a delightful example of how London is always evolving, and often changing for the better!

You can read more about what's on at King's Cross here.

If you're a fan of the boy wizard, do read about our Harry Potter London Walking Tour and also our Harry Potter trips to Leavesden (the Harry Potter Studio Tour) and Orlando...

We have many posts on London - please take a look at the London section on the blog!

We love writing this blog as a family and would love it if you would please vote for us in the UK Blog Awards. You can vote up to December 19th 2016 and it literally only takes 30 seconds. Just follow this link. And thank you!!

Nasa countdown clock to be retired!

[caption id="attachment_635" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Copyright: NASA/Jim Grossmann[/caption]

Talking of Space (which we were, with both Robert and Brian's posts on the Kennedy Space Center or KSC, and Space Camp), you may be interested in the news that Nasa's hugely famous countdown clock is ticking down.

In other words, countdown has begun for the replacement of the iconic launch clock which the boys saw at KSC. The Apollo-era digital clock is heading for retirement (well, none of us stay young forever and it has been on site for more than 40 years).

You would definitely recognise the clock, which ticks down the hours, minutes and seconds to the next launch. It used 40 watt light bulbs to form digits and a plus or minus sign to count up (or down) but those parts are dated and difficult to replace, so the clock is now to be replaced with something more up to date, such as the one in Times Square.

"We are looking at [installing] a bigger screen that will look more modern," said Lisa Malone, director of public affairs at Kennedy Space Center. "It will be more flexible, so we'll be able to show the countdown, as well as have additional room to show NASA TV programming, too."

But the clock isn't going to the scrap heap - have no fear of that. Instead it will be removed intact and plans are to send it either the Smithsonian in Washington DC or keep it on display at KSC.

You can see the clock here.

Read Robert's account of his trip to Space Camp

Let Brian tell you what you should be doing if you visit Kennedy Space Center