Mister Donut
111-0032, Japan, Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 1-chome, 33-10
Web: Mister Donut
Phone: 03-3845-4421
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Desserts Donuts Japanese

Imagine what would happen if McDonald's acquired Burger King, switched over most of the locations' names and menus, but left a few stragglers - say, all of the separately owned franchise stores in Japan - unchanged. And then, over the course of years, imagine that those Japanese locations developed their own menu items, eventually becoming cooler than the American stores they left behind. That's what actually happened to Mister Donut, which before its 1990 acquisition by Dunkin' Donuts was a major U.S. competitor. Today, Mister Donut has almost no American presence, but thanks to an Osaka, Japan franchisee, the name lives on in over 1,100 locations in Japan as the country's largest donut chain. Additional locations can be found in Taiwan, Thailand, China, South Korea and The Phillippines, and though they have similar menus, the donuts don't necessarily taste the same: it's Japan's Mister Donut shops that take the proverbial cake.

The standout donut at Mister Donut these days is something unlike anything offered at the American chain: the "Pon de Ring." In its most basic version, the $1 Pon de Ring looks like a glazed donut made from eight donut holes arranged in a circle, but the inside is very different: it's soft and sweet, with liquid honey in the center of each ball.

Then there are the variants. There's an unglazed version dusted with brown sugar. A glazed chocolate version called Pon de Chocolate. An unglazed but frosted chocolate version called Pon de Double Chocolate, a premium version called Pon de Crunchy Chocolate, and an unglazed but white frosted almond version called Pon de Almond. In our experience, the best versions are the glazed ones; their added sweetness offsets the Japanese tendency towards subtle flavors. But virtually all of the versions have sweet liquid innards that match their names.

Then there's the special edition green tea version, Pon de Matcha. Like Japanese green tea ice creams, this donut combines a hint of bitterness with the distinctive herbal flavor of matcha powder - a taste that would probably never fly in the United States, but works perfectly in Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto.

Mister Donut's other offerings are interesting, too. In the semi-familiar category, there are ring-shaped, honey or chocolate coated churros, plus "old fashioned" donuts with or without honey or chocolate coating. In the really familiar category are honey dips, caramel, strawberry or chocolate dips, crullers, and typical cream-filled versions. And then there's the weird stuff - the $2 "frank pie," a cold hot dog wrapped in puff pastry, and the cheese basil churro, amongst other options. Of course, it may be weird to us, but this is hardly the first time we've seen a hot dog pastry in a Japanese dessert shop - clearly, someone over there is buying these things.

Though we do our best to avoid American chain restaurants whenever we visit Japan, Mister Donut's an every-other-day sort of exception. But then, it's only American in name these days, and frankly, it's almost entirely better for the changes, at least in Japan. Locations we've visited in Thailand, for instance, sell donuts that look but don't taste the same - whether this is deliberate to cater to local tastes or just a matter of franchise inconsistency is unclear. In any case, we're ready to see this particular export find its way back overseas by way of Japan; Dunkin' Donuts could easily have substantially better competition.