Latest news with #Hirako
Time Out
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
One of Tokyo's most popular doughnut shops has landed in NYC
If you happened to find yourself in Times Square over the past few months, you may have spotted a glowing white question mark stamped on a wall across the street from the Lyceum Theatre. You might've asked yourself, 'What does it mean' or 'Is it an art piece?' But before you question your existence for too long, we are here to tell you the mysterious logo is tied to I'm donut?, a shop known for its airy and light doughnuts imported straight from Japan. Your next question might be, 'So what is I'm donut ? all about?' I'm donut ? officially opened its doors in Times Square this morning (154 West 45th Street), and by the looks of it, the lines are already around the block. Founded by chef Ryouta Hirako, this is I'm donut ?'s first foray outside of Japan where it has six locations across Tokyo and Fukuoka. So why now and, more importantly, why New York? According to Chef Hirako, he knew his airy and light creations would find a home here. 'When I began seeing people's excitement and reactions to their first bite of one of my donuts, I knew I had something special. Surprise, sometimes confusion, happiness and smiles,' says Chef Ryouta in a press release. "I decided that I wanted to share these donuts with people everywhere. Everyone in the world knows Times Square—this became my dream.' The Times Square store keeps a minimalistic cool with translucent panels and exposed wooden beams made to look like traditional shoji screens and elements of stone including a granite standing table and counter made to mimic a Japanese rock garden. There's a small area for retail upfront, including stickers, hoodies and sweatshirts designed by Japanese designer Yuni Yoshida and even candles made to look like doughnuts. While you wait, you can peer behind the counter for views of the tiered open kitchen to see how the doughnuts get made. Focusing on the concept of 'nama' or fresh, Chef Hirako pushes the boundaries of what a doughnut can be. Several favorites from Japan are available including the brioche-style powdered sugar, I'm donut ? original, with variations made with matcha and chocolate. Custardy cream-filled donuts are also on rotation, including the Matcha Cream and the Caramel Espresso Cream. The shop also has a number of selections unique to New Yorkers, including the PB&J, with a blend of smooth peanut butter cream and Concord grape, and the Sake Cream, with dry junmai sake and chantilly cream filling. Savory items sandwiched between two doughnut halves are also exclusive to NYC, including breakfast bites like the Scrambled Eggs and Sausage in a Blanket. Heartier appetites call for the NY BLT crafted with local and small-batch smoked bacon, a thick tomato slice, lettuce and an organic egg. Chef Hirako didn't forget about vegans either, as the NYC shop has vegan-friendly Pistachio White Chocolate, Strawberry Chocolate and Glazed doughnuts. If you need something to wash it all down, the shop offers hojicha and ceremonial-grade matcha for iced drinks and lattes on the go. Much like many of the bakeries that have opened as of late (including the second location of Radio Bakery and Filipino bakery Kora, to name a few) waits are to be expected. But if you'd rather be first in line, put on your most comfortable shoes to see what's new and happening in the doughnut sphere.
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The Smash-Hit Japanese Donut Shop I'm donut? Arrived In New York
I'm donut?'s sake cream donut. I'm donut?, one of Japan's favorite donut shops, opened in New York's Times Square on April 22. As the name suggests, it is not a typical donut shop. The concept is nama or raw donuts, although all products are fully cooked as normal donuts. 'Because of their novel, fresh texture, I wondered if they should be called donuts,' says Ryouta Hirako, chef and owner of I'm donut?. 'Donuts were my favorite sweets in my childhood and I wanted to make it something special. After countless trial and error, I tasted this dough—and thought I had just created something very special. Now I got a mission to share it with the world,' he laughs with joy and excitement in his eyes. In 2022, he opened the first I'm donut? in the hip Nakameguro area in Tokyo. Now there are 4 shops in Tokyo, one in Fukuoka and each location is known for a long line of customers. Then, what exactly is the difference between his donuts and regular ones? The texture is exceptionally airy and the moist brioche-based dough melts in your mouth with a quick, ephemeral soda pop-like sensation. Ryouta Hirako, chef and owner of I'm donut? How does he make the unique texture? 'There are no secrets really. The key ingredient is pumpkin,' he says. When you make a dough with eggs, the cooking heat can harden it due to the protein in eggs. Pumpkin somehow has the property to keep the texture fluffy while maintaining the right moisture in the dough. But that is not all. There are a number of details that he pays attention to. For instance, Hirako, a self-proclaimed perfectionist, measures the moisture content of flour every day because the day's weather affects it; he ages the dough at a low temperature for a long time and fries it at a very specific temperature that he established as the best. In the end, the real secrets seem to be Hirako's craftsmanship and almost obsessive pursuit of the ideal. At I'm donut?, donuts are handcrafted daily on-site. In New York, 15 flavors of donuts are available, including nine items developed only for the Times Square location. The signature flavors from Japan include chocolate, matcha and custard; examples of the New York-only flavors are caramel espresso cream, vegan pistachio white chocolate and sake cream, which is made with Junmai sake gelée and chantilly cream filling. There are also savory ones like NY BLT and chicken ginger teriyaki. The beverage offerings are also worth trying, which include hand-whipped matcha latte and roasty hojicha tea that resembles quality third-wave coffee. I'm donut? Times Square offers 15 flavors of original donuts. In addition to I'm donut?, Hirako successfully owns and operates multiple concepts of a café, bakeries and even a dried flower shop in Japan. He deeply gets involved in each concept's design from interior to uniforms. 'I make donuts, breads and other delightful things. Deep underneath them is my aspiration to create a little world that can spark the imagination of people. It's the world that can make their lives a little fun and exciting, even for a moment,' he says. 'My first business was a tiny pasta shop on the third floor of an apartment building. I kept the door half-open and when the guests arrived, they could hear the music through it and once they entered, there was a cozy room with homey antique furniture—they were already thrilled by the expectation of joy they would experience that night. When people come to my shop, I want them to find the same, comforting little world like, say, a Ghibli movie.' Hirako believes that the charm of his world is shareable globally and is already planning to open other locations of I'm donut? in Taiwan, Korea and beyond. I'm donut?'s matcha cream donut.
