After molecular gastronomy comes molecular mixology. The appliance of science to cocktails creates fantastical drinks, available for the first time in Hong Kong courtesy of the man at the head of the revolution, Grant Collins.
Taking a leaf from the experimental cuisine of El Bulli's Ferran Adria, Collins has been working with the drinks consultant at triple-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck, in England, to create concoctions that astound the taste buds. Some of those results can be found at upmarket bar and restaurant Lotus, in Central, where the cocktail menu is enough to brighten even the most jaded drinker. Fancy a caramelised lime daiquiri, a grape bourbon smash or an appleflower foam?
Grant, who has won acclaim working at hip bars in Sydney and London, talks of previously unimaginable treats: tiny 'gin and tonic' cubes that burst in your mouth, sea-salt foams to down with tequila instead of licking salt off the back of your hand and jelly garnishes that are suspended in cocktails.
'There's so much you can do. We're experimenting with lots of different things, but some only work in restaurants, not in a busy bar,' says Collins.
Making an El Bulli-style air foam to top a drink, for example, doesn't work in a bar because it flops in one minute. However, Collins makes foam based on egg white and a secret ingredient to keep
it firm and floating for seven minutes. Using a nitrogen-fuelled whipping canister, he mixes 15
