Hole-y Goodness or Just Okay?: A Mister Donut Review

Reading Time: 9 minutes

By Arshia Mahajan (25S06R), Betty Ding (25A01B), Foo Le Xuan Shanice (25S03A) and Isaac Chan (25A01B)

“Uh, can we just have one of each?”

4 writers, 23 donuts, a $69 bill, and a lot of high expectations. What could possibly go wrong?

Humbly located at level 2 of Junction 8 is the home to a whole display of sugar-coated dreams. As the Japanese donut brand Mister Donut’s first permanent store in Singapore, when this outlet first opened in 2023, queues often snaked around the whole level — and who can blame these avid donut-enjoyers? From “Chocolate” to “Strawberry Pon De Ring”, Mister Donut holds the promise to a world of bliss once hidden on the faraway shores of Japan.

But are these donuts really as sweet as they sound, or just another overpriced excuse for fried dough? Follow us as we delve into all 23 flavours Mister Donut, battling food coma, sugar rush, and imminent diabetes to find out which donut comes out on top.

Mister Donut’s wide catalogue of fantastic and foul flavours.

Disclaimer: Custard Cream was unfortunately unavailable, thus it escapes our tier list and judgement. We tested these donuts roughly 30 minutes after purchasing, so perhaps our description may not do the donut justice as the quality may have deteriorated. Additionally, we tasted all 23 donuts one after another, so if our writing sounds like we are about to burst into tears (or tiers), it’s probably because we are.

Six donuts find themselves in this disappointing predicament: Chocolate, French Cruller, Sugar Raised, Honey Churro, Chocolate Churro and Pon De Plain.

Starting off with Chocolate, it has a texture so soft, our taste testers all agree that it is comparable to cake. However, do nut be fooled: this is not meant to be a positive statement. It collapsed between our teeth, as if the cake-donut imposter was trying to disguise itself as other donuts but constantly failing – like a movie supervillain that just wants to be accepted, but you can’t overlook the fact that he killed millions of people. This donut almost gave us a villain origin story.

Next, the French Cruller. As unappetising as this description may sound, we cannot deny that it has the texture of soggy toilet paper flaking away sadly in your mouth. The powdered sugar does make it slightly more visually appealing, but it is a futile attempt at resuscitation. Get ready, though: our D tier donut descriptions only get cruel and cruller.

Sugar Raised raised a lot of questions and confusion, for example: why is it so dry? To put it best, Sugar Raised is on the complete extreme of the donut texture scale, with the other end of the spectrum being the soft texture of Chocolate.

But as they say, tough times don’t last, tough donuts do. Let’s just say Honey Churro and Chocolate Churro will be lasting for a long, long time.

Pon De Plain certainly lives up to its name: it’s, well, pretty plain. For those looking for a healthier option, this is the donut for you as it still retains the iconic chewy mochi texture without being sweet. Not for us though, it’s plain to see that the donut lacked drama.

The following donuts get the wonderful title of being slightly less painful: Chocolate Ring, Old Fashion, Strawberry Chocolate, Golden Chocolate and Angel Cream.

Chocolate Ring and Old Fashion are generally alright, but have small flaws that set them back. Chocolate Ring does not stand out among its other yeast donut counterparts (other than Sugar Raised), and Old Fashion is a little dry. To be fair, these two donuts were one of the last few ones that we tasted – perhaps our enthusiasm for the donuts had waned leading to the low ranking.

The same cannot be said for Strawberry Chocolate. We felt that this donut was Chocolate hiding behind the pink strawberry coated mask as a way to deceive us while pining for acceptance. We were not fooled however, and as one writer aptly puts it, “I can still feel its skid marks on my throat.” We still remember its villainous acts.

It’s only uphill from here though, but not good enough to reach the next level. Golden Chocolate did wow us slightly with its visuals, and Angel Cream did have a delectable light whipped cream. Alas: our article, our rules.

These donuts did not impress at all. Despite being marginally better than the ones listed above, we wouldn’t exactly jump at the chance to eat them. The following donuts were just straight up mid: Pon De Ring, Daigaku Imo Pon De Ring, Benitenshi Cream, and Pon De Ring Chocolate.

Looking at the Pon De Ring doesn’t inspire much confidence. It’s almost identical to the Pon De Plain, which already abused our taste buds. Surprisingly, it’s not so bad. It’s just a regular donut, but still miles ahead of the Pon De Plain in terms of taste. If you’re pon-de-ring on which sweet treat to buy that’s not too sweet, this could be the one for you.

The Daigaku Imo Pon De Ring and Benitenshi Cream were a part of Mister Donut’s temporary sweet potato collection. If you missed it, don’t worry – you didn’t miss out on much. Just like some people think pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza, we firmly believe that sweet potatoes and donuts should stay far, far away from each other. For the Daigaku Imo Pon De Ring, there is an instant explosion of sweet potato in your mouth after the very first bite. If you are a fan of sweet potatoes, congrats, this is definitely the perfect donut for you. For us, though, we found it to be a personal attack on donuts everywhere.

The Benitenshi Cream wasn’t much better. With its strong yeast flavour, it tasted more like sweet potato flavoured bread than a donut. The purple powder sprinkled on top lulls you into a false sense of security; you may think that you’re biting into an innovative new fruity flavour, but actually taking a bite brings reality crashing down – the powder just belongs to the most boring tuber to exist. Safe to say, we weren’t huge fans of these temporary additions to the menu.

Finally, the Pon De Ring Chocolate. As a fan of chocolate, I was expecting more. Just like the Pon De Ring, it’s nothing to write home about. Somehow, the addition of chocolate on the donut makes it less sweet than the Pon De Ring. However, it looks and tastes much better, giving it slightly more points.

While these donuts were easy on the taste buds, they simply lacked the “it” factor to make it into our triumphant three. While battling through 23 donuts all in one seating, these donuts definitely made the experience much better. Without further ado, our honourable mentions are: Strawberry Churro, Chocolate Fashion, Honey Dip, Angel French, and Strawberry Ring.

Throughout our taste-testing expedition, we’ve come to a conclusion that the strawberry flavour remains uncontested by the rest of the flavours offered by Mister Donut.

Some apt examples were the Strawberry Churro and the Strawberry Ring. While they were quite delectable, removing the strawberry coating from them would easily send them down 2-3 tiers. These donuts without it would be akin to pizza without cheese, rollercoasters with no speed, or even shoes with no soles.

The Strawberry Churro very honestly did not have the texture of a churro. It was slightly harder than one would expect, but it might be a good refresher in between more decadent selections.

The Strawberry Ring tasted like any other donut— nothing special, but nothing wrong either. It is a neutral and unoffensive, perfect for those who might prefer something more familiar amongst the Mister Donut selection. (Though we suspect that the strawberry coating was essential in covering up the otherwise powerful yeasty aftertaste of the donut).

Similarly, the Honey Dip was another example of a “perfectly normal donut”. Despite its name, it was basically a glazed donut. This was surprisingly light on the tastebuds and had a good texture as well. Overall another very safe option— no harm, no foul.

Now, onto the Chocolate Fashion— seriously, what is up with these names? Just as one would expect a donut with its name to look like, this donut was beautiful to a fault. With its crispy top and smooth bottom, who could resist adding it into their options? The texture of this donut was what really won us over. It was like eating the lovechild of cookie and cake, with its crispyness greeting your teeth right before they sink into pillowy cake goodness. The chocolate coating really came through for this one as well, earning its spot in our list of honourable mentions.

Lastly, we have the Angel French, which is my personal favourite (hence its spot on the list closest to the S tier). Upon first bite, you get the crispy chocolate coating, the soft outer covering, and fragrant whipped cream. While this was more creampuff than donut, it was truly the whipped cream that won me over. It was light and fragrant, leaving me yearning for my next bite. While this might not be for everyone, it is definitely one of Mister Donut’s more unique selections and definitely worth a try.

Objectively speaking, these donuts are the best. From first sight to the last bite, it’s a heavenly experience throughout. Mister Donut clearly knows what it’s doing when it comes to the strawberry flavoured donuts. These mouthwatering donuts are none other than Pon De Ring Strawberry, Custard Strawberry French, and Strawberry Fashion.

There is simply no competition among the Pon De Ring collection. The Strawberry stands out from its lesser peers in every way imaginable. With just the perfect amount of sweetness, along with its soft and fluffy texture, it earns its spot in the Top 3. You can never go wrong by ordering this fan favourite.

The Custard Strawberry French was my personal favourite. In my opinion, it transcends the bounds of time and space to deliver perfection in donut form. Admittedly, this view may not be shared by all, as another taste-tester quotes Panic! At The Disco by talking about the ‘high, high hopes’ this donut failed to deliver on. Indeed, it is described on their website as a ‘light & fluffy donut sandwich with rich custard cream’, which sets one’s standards high. While I believe this donut goes above and beyond, it may not be ‘the one’ for everyone. Still, I strongly recommend giving it a try.

Last, but definitely not the least, we have the Strawberry Fashion. As part of their Old Fashion series, it offers a unique twist on typical donuts with its cookie-style. Its crispiness and sweetness set it apart from any other donut, while still maintaining its palatability. For those looking to try something different, the Strawberry Fashion is the best choice you can make.

Lessons of Love, Loss, and Literally Never Again

After a day of tasting too many donuts, we left not only with full bellies, but also fully regretting what we had just done.

No food was wasted and kindly devoured by happy volunteers.

To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Knowledge is when you learn something new everyday. Wisdom is when you let something go everyday.” That day we learnt that eating 23 donut flavours in the span of 1.5 hours was not a good idea, and since then we have completely let go of any donut eating desires – and a good chunk of our dignity.

Our hard work consolidated into a list.

So, does Mister Donut live up to the hype? If hype were measured solely by queue lengths, the answer might seem bleak as lines outside the store have dwindled. The allure of novelty has worn thin, much like the glaze on a well-loved Pon de Ring. But if hype is measured by that first blissful bite of a fresh, chewy donut, then perhaps Mister Donut isn’t about living up to the hype, but savouring fleeting moments of joy (emphasis on “fleeting”).

Dear reader, if we could leave you with one thing, it’s not that the best Mister Donut flavour is strawberry. Rather, we would like to leave you with a warning: Never doubt the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.