Ice Queen rules Thai ice cream world in Middle Georgia

Liquid nitrogen is some amazing stuff. At Ice Queen, in the former Peach Swirl location on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard, they use it to turn ordinary food into something amazing — right before your eyes.

Take, for example, ordinary cheese balls. They swish them around in a metal pitcher of liquid nitrogen and they come out just as crunchy but with the added miracle of Dragon Breath. Get lots of selfies as you roar and blow out smoke for just $3.95.

Even better is their “stir fried” ice cream for $5.75. Watch as they pour sweetened cream onto a -31 degree metal surface, then add your requested flavors — like chocolate, Oreos, green tea or fruit. As the ingredients begin to freeze, they are spread out and rolled up several times. Finally, the frozen result is curled into six separate rolls and placed vertically into your bowl. Free toppings like strawberries and chocolate chips are added, if you choose, and you have custom-made ice cream in about three minutes.

My favorite flavor was the Morning Latte, mixing chocolate, coffee and graham crackers. Another interesting one was the Blackberry Lavender, whose recipient said it “tasted like the smell of fancy soap, but in a good way.” The Black Humor, with chocolate, Oreo and brownies, is popular, as is the banana Nutella Monkey Business. Next time I’ll try the green tea Matcha Paradise and Mango Go-Go with pineapple.

I had caramel sauce and a smoked marshmallow as my toppings on the Morning Latte. The free toppings include several types of candies, nuts and fruits, plus wafer cookies and Japanese pocky (little cookie sticks dipped in chocolate or strawberry).

If you feel even more experimental, you can get your ice cream made by pouring the liquid nitrogen directly into your cream concoction for $6.75. It’s only worth the extra dollar if the rolled texture is unappealing to you, as it creates a much more traditional scooped ice cream look.

The only other Thai-style ice cream shops in Georgia are located in Atlanta, so go support this innovative addition to the frozen dessert spectrum in Middle Georgia. And make sure to post those crazy selfies.

Read more reviews of local restaurants

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 6:48 AM with the headline "Ice Queen rules Thai ice cream world in Middle Georgia."