Latest news with #MisterDonut
Japan Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Mister Donut's New Home Cut doughnuts take nostalgia to extremes with barely any sweetness
By Oona McGee, SoraNews24 Mister Donut is known for its limited-edition collaborations with famous big names like Gion Tsujiri, Pokémon, and Disney, but recently it's been wowing customers with completely new types of doughnuts. Now, following on from the explosive popularity of the ultra-soft 'Mocchurin' series released this past June, the chain is giving us another original doughnut developed in-house, and it's called the 'New Home Cut.' According to Mister Donut, this new series is reminiscent of the 'Home Cut' doughnut sold in Japan when the company first opened its doors here 55 years ago. The 'New Home Cut' is an evolution of that doughnut from the founding era, and there are six varieties to choose from. ▼ Original (Takeout 183 yen/Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Honey (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Cinnamon (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Maple (Takeout 194 yen /Eat-in 198 yen) ▼ Butter Crunch (Takeout 205 yen /Eat-in 209 yen) As for the sixth doughnut, the An Butter (Takeout 226 yen /Eat-in 231 yen), unfortunately that had sold out when we visited to try the series, suggesting that might just be the most popular flavor of them all. Still, with the focus being on texture — the mouthfeel is said to centre around a fluffy, moist dough with the aroma of egg and vanilla — we didn't feel like we were missing out, and when we ripped into the doughnuts, we could see what made them so special. Our immediate impression was of an old-timey classic doughnut, but when we bit into them, our surprise grew. Not only did they have a light yet chewy texture that was different to what we're used to getting at the chain, but they were barely sweet. In fact, we'd go so far as to say they weren't sweet at all — if you were to rate the chain's regular Old Fashioned doughnut as a 10 on sweetness, the New Home Cut would barely make a blip at 1 or 2 on that scale. This barely sweet base meant that even the cinnamon and glazed varieties felt subdued in sweetness, yet there was something innately appealing about their understated charms. Each bite took us back to the days when our taste buds were able to ease into a flavor like an adventure that slowly revealed itself, instead of being assaulted from the get-go by overly sweet and salty ingredients. Our taste buds loved taking this journey back in time to a simpler, quieter period, and although the plainness of the range might lead some customers to liken these to soft breads instead of doughnuts, we like to see it as the embodiment of decades of experience, where one can learn from the old to create the new. The range is familiar yet surprising, which is what we like in a sweet treat, and they'll be on the menu for roughly six months, until late February 2026, so you'll have plenty of time to try them. Photos ©SoraNews24 Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Donuts beyond mochi mochi: Mister Donut's new donuts are so soft they're almost drinkable -- Mister Donut releases new Uji Matcha doughnut with Gion Tsujiri -- Pokémon doughnuts appear at Mister Donut, with Diglett as the star! External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Mister Donut's New Home Cut doughnuts take nostalgia to extremes with barely any sweetness
New take on a '70s classic will have you questioning the line between plain bread and doughnut. Mister Donut is known for its limited-edition collaborations with famous big names like Gion Tsujiri, Pokémon, and Disney, but recently it's been wowing customers with completely new types of doughnuts. Now, following on from the explosive popularity of the ultra-soft 'Mocchurin' series released this past June, the chain is giving us another original doughnut developed in-house, and it's called the 'New Home Cut'. According to Mister Donut, this new series is reminiscent of the 'Home Cut' doughnut sold in Japan when the company first opened its doors here 55 years ago. The 'New Home Cut' is an evolution of that doughnut from the founding era, and there are six varieties to choose from. ▼ Original (Takeout 183 yen [US$1.24]/Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Honey (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Cinnamon (Takeout 183 yen /Eat-in 187 yen) ▼ Maple (Takeout 194 yen /Eat-in 198 yen) ▼ Butter Crunch (Takeout 205 yen /Eat-in 209 yen) As for the sixth doughnut, the An Butter (Takeout 226 yen /Eat-in 231 yen), unfortunately that had sold out when we visited to try the series, suggesting that might just be the most popular flavour of them all. Still, with the focus being on texture — the mouthfeel is said to centre around a fluffy, moist dough with the aroma of egg and vanilla — we didn't feel like we were missing out, and when we ripped into the doughnuts, we could see what made them so special. Our immediate impression was of an old-timey classic doughnut, but when we bit into them, our surprise grew. Not only did they have a light yet chewy texture that was different to what we're used to getting at the chain, but they were barely sweet. In fact, we'd go so far as to say they weren't sweet at all — if you were to rate the chain's regular Old Fashioned doughnut as a 10 on sweetness, the New Home Cut would barely make a blip at 1 or 2 on that scale. This barely sweet base meant that even the cinnamon and glazed varieties felt subdued in sweetness, yet there was something innately appealing about their understated charms. Each bite took us back to the days when our taste buds were able to ease into a flavour like an adventure that slowly revealed itself, instead of being assaulted from the get-go by overly sweet and salty ingredients. Our taste buds loved taking this journey back in time to a simpler, quieter period, and although the plainness of the range might lead some customers to liken these to soft breads instead of doughnuts, we like to see it as the embodiment of decades of experience, where one can learn from the old to create the new. The range is familiar yet surprising, which is what we like in a sweet treat, and they'll be on the menu for roughly six months, until late February 2026, so you'll have plenty of time to try them. Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
Japan Today
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Donuts with seaweed and soy sauce: Is Japan's Mister Donut idea too Japanese for its own good?
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Mister Donut is the Japanese donut chain. Though it originally started out in the U.S., it's risen to greater success in Japan than it ever did in its home country, and was pretty much Japan's only high-profile donut chain for several decades. Even now, with Krispy Kreme and Randy's Donuts having opened locations in Japan, there's still a perception that Mister Donut is the one that's really tapped into Japanese sweets fans' tastes. But a recent suggestion from Mister Donut had even us thinking that maybe it had gotten a little too Japanese. First, let's set the stage/dessert table. On its official website, Mister Donut has a list of what it calls 'at-home donut arrangements.' They're basically mini recipes for ways to spruce up our Mister Donut treats once you get them home, things like cutting an Old Fashioned into slices and serving it in a dish with ice cream as a donut parfait, or adding whipped cream and banana slices to turn your donut into a fancy high-tea kind of snack. And then there's this suggestion. Yes, that's a Mister Donut donut wrapped in seaweed. Why? Because this is their arrangement for Pon de Isobemaki, which will require some quick linguistic side dishes to explain. First, Pon de Ring is Mister Donut's most popular donut, a ring made up of bite-sized spheres of dough. ▼ You could say that the Pon de Ring is a chain of donut holes that forms a donut with a single non-donut-hole hole in its center, if that sort of word wrangling doesn't make smoke come out of your ears. Meanwhile isobemaki is a traditional Japanese dish in which a mochi rice cake is grilled, dipped in dashi soy sauce (soy sauce with bonito stock), and wrapped in a sheet of dried seaweed (or nori, as it's called in Japanese), It's a not entirely uncommon misconception that Pon de Ring is made with mochi flour, since they're chewier than other donuts. However, this extra chewiness actually comes from tapioca powder that's mixed into the dough. There's no mochi in Pon de Ring, which means there's also no culinary precedent for dipping a Pon de Ring in soy sauce and then wrapping it in some crisp seaweed. Honestly, it sounds like the sort of insane idea you'd get if you were looking for a way to justify eating some dessert when you haven't even had dinner yet. If the suggestion was coming from anywhere else, we'd be tempted to dismiss it immediately, but this recipe is straight from Mister Donut themselves, and it wouldn't be in their interest to present us with a way to make one of their products taste worse, right? So we headed out to our local branch, though still with our hearts full of more confusion than hope, to pick up a Pon de Ring and give this highly unorthodox idea a try. Almost immediately, we ran into a hiccup, because Mister Donut sells multiple kinds of Pon de Ring, At the most basic stage of division, there's the glazed Pon de Ring and the non-glazed Pon de Ring Plain. However, since Mister Donut's Pon de Isobemaki recipe just says to use a 'Pon de Ring,' we went with the style simply called Pon de Ring, the glazed version. The first step of the recipe is to heat the Pon de Ring in the microwave for 15 seconds. Next, dip the donut in dashi soy sauce, making sure to get the condiment on both sides. Mister Donut's recipe calls for roughly 30 milliliters (approximately one ounce) of sauce, but you probably don't really need to be too precise with the measurement. We honestly felt a little guilty doing this to one of the absolute all-stars of the Japanese sweets scene. Sure, we had Mister Donut's explicit permission to do so, but if a parent said 'Go ahead, slap my kid in the face,' that still wouldn't make it something we could do without it weighing heavily on our conscience. Once the dipping is done, grab a sheet of nori and wrap the donut in it. Its time in the microwave had made our Pon de Ring a little droopy in consistency, so we had to use a delicate touch to make sure we were gripping tightly enough so that it wouldn't slide free from its seaweed sheath, but not so tightly as to smoosh our sweets. Then we lifted the Pon de Osobemaki up, took a bite, and… …were startled by how delicious it is, For as bizarre as the concept had sounded, there's very little in the way of distracting drama once you taste it. The sweet and salty notes of the donut, glaze, and soy sauce prove that they can in fact play very nicely together, and while the texture of the nori is a bit discordant, its slightly salty contribution to the flavor profile makes for nice clean finish. Despite its name, the Pon de Isobemaki actually reminded us more of another traditional Japanese food: mitarashi dango. These dumplings, which actually are made from mochi, are brushed with a glaze made from sugar, mirin (sweet cooking sake), and soy sauce, producing a flavor that dances gracefully on the sweet-savory line. When the glaze on the standard Pon de Ring meets soy sauce, it creates a similar sensation, and that's probably why Mister Donut's recipe ostensibly wants you to use the glazed version of the donut. Getting back to isobemaki itself, though, the flavor tends to be different depending on whether you eat it in the Tokyo or Osaka area, since Osaka favors a sweeter-tasting soy sauce than east Japan does. That has us thinking that maybe the non-glazed Pon de Ring Plain has potential with the isobemaki-style treatment too, so we might have to experiment with that as well, provided that we can resist the urge to just repeat the very satisfying as-is recipe from Mister Donut. Reference: Mister Donut Insert images: SoraNews24, Mister Donut Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Mister Donut's new Kyoto roasted green tea donut is a mess…in the best possible way -- Japan's new Mister Donut matcha donuts have so much green tea flavor one has to use the hole -- Mister Donut, Kyoto tea merchant create new line of treats, with one that's two desserts in one External Link © SoraNews24
The Mainichi
07-07-2025
- General
- The Mainichi
English test cheating and photo-only weddings: Our 5 most-read stories from last week
We've listed our five most read stories on The Mainichi news site, from top to bottom, that were published between June 28 and July 6. The first story was viewed by 19.1% of our regular readers. (The Mainichi) Social inequality in China may be behind English test proxy cases in Japan TOKYO -- A slew of suspected cheating cases have been uncovered in the Test of English for International Communication, known commonly as TOEIC, held in Japan. A Chinese student has been arrested over his alleged involvement, and is suspected to have acted as part of an exam cheating ring. A closer look into these cases reveals circumstances unique to China. Full story. Edging Toward Japan: Japan's greatest gift to the world may yet be Mister Donut By Damian Flanagan Whenever I am in Britain, I generally attempt to steer clear of any conversation about Japan as this will often take the form of someone innocently remarking how very "strange" and "alien" Japanese culture must be and how intense must be the culture shock for a British person, presumably hoping that I will respond with a long list of extravagantly weird things. Full story. New Japanese citizen in int'l marriage confronts single-surname rule for married couples FUKUOKA -- A man who acquired Japanese nationality two years ago has reflected on the Japanese system requiring married Japanese couples to share a single surname -- following years in an international marriage in which he and his wife retained separate surnames. Full story. South Korean-style photo-only weddings gain popularity in Japan TOKYO -- "Instagrammable" South Korean-style photo-only weddings are gaining popularity in Japan amid the trend of young couples moving away from lavish ceremonies and receptions. Full story. 2 women thanked by Tokyo Fire Dept. for saving life of teen in cardiac arrest on train Airu Shiozaki, second from left in front row, and Megumi Saiki, third from left in front row, who received the fire commissioner award for saving a teenager who collapsed on a train, are seen in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, June 29, 2025. (Mainichi/Yuka Asahina) Full story.
SoraNews24
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Donuts with seaweed and soy sauce — Is Japan's Mister Donut idea too Japanese for its own good?
Traditional mochi treatment puts a spin on the Pon de Ring, but is it an unrecoverable tailspin? Mister Donut is the Japanese donut chain. Though it originally started out in the U.S., it's risen to greater success in Japan than it ever did in its home country, and was pretty much Japan's only high-profile donut chain for several decades. Even now, with Krispy Kreme and Randy's Donuts having opened locations in Japan, there's still a perception that Mister Donut is the one that's really tapped into Japanese sweets fans' tastes. But a recent suggestion from Mister Donut had even us thinking that maybe it had gotten a little too Japanese. First, let's set the stage/dessert table. On its official website, Mister Donut has a list of what it calls 'at-home donut arrangements.' They're basically mini recipes for ways to spruce up our Mister Donut treats once you get them home, things like cutting an Old Fashioned into slices and serving it in a dish with ice cream as a donut parfait, or adding whipped cream and banana slices to turn your donut into a fancy high-tea kind of snack. And then there's this suggestion. Yes, that's a Mister Donut donut wrapped in seaweed. Why? Because this is their arrangement for Pon de Isobemaki, which will require some quick linguistic side dishes to explain. First, Pon de Ring is Mister Donut's most popular donut, a ring made up of bite-sized spheres of dough. ▼ You could say that the Pon de Ring is a chain of donut holes that forms a donut with a single non-donut-hole hole in its center, if that sort of word wrangling doesn't make smoke come out of your ears. Meanwhile isobemaki is a traditional Japanese dish in which a mochi rice cake is grilled, dipped in dashi soy sauce (soy sauce with bonito stock), and wrapped in a sheet of dried seaweed (or nori, as it's called in Japanese), It's a not entirely uncommon misconception that Pon de Ring is made with mochi flour, since they're chewier than other donuts. However, this extra chewiness actually comes from tapioca powder that's mixed into the dough. There's no mochi in Pon de Ring, which means there's also no culinary precedent for dipping a Pon de Ring in soy sauce and then wrapping it in some crisp seaweed. Honestly, it sounds like the sort of insane idea you'd get if you were looking for a way to justify eating some dessert when you haven't even had dinner yet. If the suggestion was coming from anywhere else, we'd be tempted to dismiss it immediately, but this recipe is straight from Mister Donut themselves, and it wouldn't be in their interest to present us with a way to make one of their products taste worse, right? So we headed out to our local branch, though still with our hearts full of more confusion than hope, to pick up a Pon de Ring and give this highly unorthodox idea a try. Almost immediately, we ran into a hiccup, because Mister Donut sells multiple kinds of Pon de Ring, At the most basic stage of division, there's the glazed Pon de Ring and the non-glazed Pon de Ring Plain. However, since Mister Donut's Pon de Isobemaki recipe just says to use a 'Pon de Ring,' we went with the style simply called Pon de Ring, the glazed version. The first step of the recipe is to heat the Pon de Ring in the microwave for 15 seconds. Next, dip the donut in dashi soy sauce, making sure to get the condiment on both sides. Mister Donut's recipe calls for roughly 30 milliliters (approximately one ounce) of sauce, but you probably don't really need to be too precise with the measurement. We honestly felt a little guilty doing this to one of the absolute all-stars of the Japanese sweets scene. Sure, we had Mister Donut's explicit permission to do so, but if a parent said 'Go ahead, slap my kid in the face,' that still wouldn't make it something we could do without it weighing heavily on our conscience. Once the dipping is done, grab a sheet of nori and wrap the donut in it. Its time in the microwave had made our Pon de Ring a little droopy in consistency, so we had to use a delicate touch to make sure we were gripping tightly enough so that it wouldn't slide free from its seaweed sheath, but not so tightly as to smoosh our sweets. Then we lifted the Pon de Osobemaki up, took a bite, and… …were startled by how delicious it is! For as bizarre as the concept had sounded, there's very little in the way of distracting drama once you taste it. The sweet and salty notes of the donut, glaze, and soy sauce prove that they can in fact play very nicely together, and while the texture of the nori is a bit discordant, its slightly salty contribution to the flavor profile makes for nice clean finish. Despite its name, the Pon de Isobemaki actually reminded us more of another traditional Japanese food: mitarashi dango. These dumplings, which actually are made from mochi, are brushed with a glaze made from sugar, mirin (sweet cooking sake), and soy sauce, producing a flavor that dances gracefully on the sweet-savory line. When the glaze on the standard Pon de Ring meets soy sauce, it creates a similar sensation, and that's probably why Mister Donut's recipe ostensibly wants you to use the glazed version of the donut. Getting back to isobemaki itself, though, the flavor tends to be different depending on whether you eat it in the Tokyo or Osaka area, since Osaka favors a sweeter-tasting soy sauce than east Japan does. That has us thinking that maybe the non-glazed Pon de Ring Plain has potential with the isobemaki-style treatment too, so we might have to experiment with that as well, provided that we can resist the urge to just repeat the very satisfying as-is recipe from Mister Donut. Reference: Mister Donut Top image: SoraNews24 Insert images: SoraNews24, Mister Donut ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
