Sunday, August 8, 2010

Bear donuts (Mister Donut's 熊太郎)

Almond cream bear donut

Screw posting in chronological order. I can't spend my time posting in chronological order when people on Tumblr are jacking my pictures (some credit would've been nice)! Anyway, I couldn't keep myself from wasting some more money when I saw these in the glass case of the Taipei train station Mister Donut. I mean... 40 NT ($1.25)... for a donut that's shaped like a bear (a mother... fuckin'... bear)? Hell yeah! It's a relatively small price to pay for eternal 5 minutes of sheer joy. Sure, maybe... no, definitely I have a Peter Pan syndrome (the only other people I saw buying them were parents... for their kids), but I'm pretty damn sure you're lying if you said you didn't want to get in on this bear on donut lovin'.

It's true...

"Bear donut is the first animal-like donut in Mister Donut. It is so yummy!" This shit is so OG that they can write in Chinglish, and they will still sell a crapton of them. Damn. Anyway, named the 熊太郎 (xiong tai lang) in Chinese, these overwhelmingly cute donuts come in 3 flavors (strawberry, chocolate, and almond), and are pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread. Really.

Almond cream

Its brains, if you will. The outer donut is similar to the 'Pon de Ring' donuts that Mister Donut is generally known for. They possess a tangibly chewy outer layer, and a delightfully light and airy center (though not devoid of material). Not overly sweet, the donut itself is basically subtle in flavor, and big on texture. The lack of sugar is usually an annoyance of mine in Taiwanese desserts, but the bear donut gracefully sidesteps this issue with a layer of thick glaze. Neither crunchy, nor gluey, their miracle glaze is an absolute feat of Japanese engineering. No, seriously... they probably added a host of preservatives to increase the longevity of their glazes (not that they have to on these babies, since they sell like hotcakes), but I really don't mind, it's still impressive to me. As for the cream... it's whipped super light, and flavored ever so gently that it's the perfect complement for the shell. Basically, you get a donut that's so delicious, and so intoxicating in cuteness that you'll ultimately become a donut serial killer. This shit is legit, and I hope it becomes a permanent fixture on their menu.

9 comments:

camissonia (Arleen) said...

Man, that's just wrong! But in the right way. How do they come up with this stuff? On our last trip back to Taipei (circa 1998), my sister and I got hooked on these cellophane-wrapped green tea sponge cakes from 7-Eleven which had a similar to-die-for fluffy white filling (Taiwanese Twinkies?). We bought a couple dozen to bring back to LA and somehow managed to get them through customs without an embarrassing interrogation.

Rodzilla said...

I want it more than the panda cake.

kim said...

So others can just 'repost' your photos? I guess that could be a compliment to your photography skill, but yea, some credits would've been nice.

You think a Mister Donut chain would do well in NYC? I always meet my friends for coffee and sweets at a Mister Donut in Japan. Also liked that the donuts aren't the huge sizes like the ones here.

Nicholas said...

camissonia - I don't know. They probably have a computer pick an animal, a flavor, and type of carb. Then they market the crap out of it. I love it though. I've never seen these green Twinkies you speak of haha.

Rodzilla - so much better than panda cake. I think. I never actually got to have panda cake, but it probably tastes awful (I tell myself this).

kim - I have a creative commons license applied to all my photos, so as long as they're not used for commercial purposes, then technically it's kosher (they did link back to my Flickr... but crediting my blog would've been better). Mister Donut in NYC? Hmm, it'd have the Asian vote, that's for sure. The thing is, the general palate in Asia wants something less sweet than the typical American offering. New Yorkers might not like that, since they're accustomed to DD and the like. Hard to say, although I can say they'd have at least 2 loyal customers :)

Melissa Zhang said...

BEAR DONUT. Why is it not in my tummy? Agh. Small obstacles like being halfway around the world.

Though, if Beard Papa came here, would Mister Donut? Until then, I'll have to figure out a way to make a DIY panda donut.

Nicholas said...

Melissa - you and Adelyn said the same exact thing (that is, making homemade donuts in bear shapes) hahaha. I was planning on bringing a dozen back, but the logistics of keeping donuts from going stale (and me eating them in the airport) derailed that in a matter of hours.

LIN said...

hehe "animal-like donut". pretty sad, i never tried mister donut whilst in taiwan!

Anonymous said...

im in taipei right now and want to eat a bear head! where can i find this?

Nicholas said...

Anonymous - I have no clue if it's still going on... but if it is, any Mister Donut should technically have it? There's a lot of them, especially near the MRT stations.

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