September 7, 2008

Doughnut wars

Early this decade, many Filipinos who visited the U.S. would come home with tales about the most fantastic doughnuts they have ever tasted: Krispy Kreme. At the time, the largest and most popular doughnut chain in the Philippines was Dunkin' Donuts, followed by Mister Donut. There were a few local doughnut stores, but none as popular as those two. My friends and I wondered whether Krispy Kreme would ever be franchised here, but when we converted their prices to pesos, it came out way too expensive for most Filipinos and we figured that it never will and we will never have a taste of its very soft, very light dough—its main difference with the other brands. Then an enterprising baker here decided to try and create a doughnut batter as light and fluffy as Krispy Kreme's. And so Go Nuts Donuts opened its doors to Filipino doughnut connoisseurs in 2003. Sales were brisk and they soon expanded their line to include cupcakes and rolls. However, several years later Krispy Kreme was franchised here too and I think that most Americans will find that they're actually cheaper here. Anyway, that evil gas station I wrote about yesterday also has a Go Nuts Donuts branch and after eating at Kamirori, my husband and I always go there to bring home a box of six. His favorite is the Cinnamon Glaze Zigzag (bottom tray, second to the right) and mine is the Choc-Coffee Caramel Zigzag (top tray, right-most—you can click on the image to enlarge it). I also have my favorite cupcakes but I haven't had any in months because they're always sold out by the time we get there in the evening.

Gonuts Donuts display case

16 comments:

Harry Makertia said...

Doughnut is not my favorite, though once Patricia seduced me with her "it will melt in your mouth" slogan. We tried J.CO, and I understood what "melting in your mouth" means! :-). Thanks for visiting my page!

• Eliane • said...

Ah, the empire of sweetness! I confess that I don't understand cupcakes. I try, but I really don't get it. ;)

Burd Zel Krai said...

yes krispy kreme is a sweet seductress...

hadv said...

I never had Krispy kreme nor Go Nuts Donuts before! I love doughnuts as a comfort food, but the only ones I've found good enough are the doughnuts sold at the market by manang and the ones from Rockwell's Dunkin branch. Yes, they're way different from the other branches, and more expensive. I've always passed by Go Nuts thinking it couldn't be that good. Patikim nga..

Joy said...

I love donuts - full stop. :D But I avoid them here in the UK as my hips will probably start having the same shape as the donuts I eat if I didn't have any self-control. But the thing is, donuts over here are sooo bland! This is why I miss Dunkin' Donuts' Boston Cream - soft, chocolate frosted and cream-filled. I like Krispy Kreme, too, but they tend to be on the too-sweet side for me. I also like Mister Donut's chocobutternut. :D And to my pleasant surprise, my husband who is British actually enjoys Go Nuts Donuts. So I'm counting the days (3 months 7 days) til I'm back in Manila to enjoy all the good food there! Including the best popcorn!

Joy said...

PS

Why not, when you go to the shop, if they were out of what you wanted, ask them to reserve the items you want for you to purchase the next day or something? I'm sure by now you would have formed a nice customer-seller relationship with them :D

Hilda said...

Joy:
Nooooo! I've been avoiding doing that so we never have to go there purposefully. My thighs will never survive it. :D

Ken Mac said...

As a young musician growing up in north carolina the final stop of the night would be at Krispy Kreme at 4am. Man, they used to make these incredible chocolate peanut cake donuts. Back then the only people who came to KK were truck drivers and third shift workers.
Hilda, re "No urinating" signs are all over Metro Manila, unfortunately. One guess why. =( " for some reason I always think of Manila as the kind of place that would never stand for such abhorrrent urban behavior. But I guess it's the same the world over..

Eki said...

Looks yummy, Hilda! I like donuts, but don't eat them very much. ;)
Light fluffy donuts seems like the one I can eat more of, though.

Indonesia has similar local donut entrepreneur called JCO. It's getting more popular than its American predecessors here because it sells lighter, fluffier donuts with more varieties and it has cozier stores.

BTW, thanks for your comment on my City Square post. Yes, I think I'd feel at home in Manila as you'd in Bandung. We share quite a few things in common.

Oh, and I'm afraid I don't quite understand your question about some of my posts being shorter that the others. If I got it correctly though, my answer is this: Sometimes I just don't feel like writing, just too tired to do it, or simply I don't have the the needed references to write about a post.

Saretta said...

Yum...what decadence!!!! :-))

Lynette said...

My favorite round donut is a cake sort of one, covered in chocolate, from Voodoo Donuts on SW 3rd in downtown Portland.

USelaine said...

When I was growing up here in California, the only chain shop I knew about was Winchell's Donuts. I think they gave policemen free coffee and donuts to encourage them to drop around. There were plenty of jokes about where to find a cop if you needed one.

magiceye said...

we in india dont have any of these branded donut chains. but similar to donuts we have a south indian speciality called 'medu vada' which is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and it is not sweet but bland and to be eaten with sauces called 'chutney' made of coriander and dunked in 'sambar'!

angela said...

Thankfully for my waist and hips we don't have any of these donut chains. The local patisserie is quite sweet enough!
(But the selection looks delicious)

Halcyon said...

I am not a big fan of sweets, unless they are chocolate and even then I prefer rich dark chocolate rather than sweet milk chocolate.

I don't really like doughnuts though and have never understood the krispy kreme craze. Do you really think they are better than other doughnuts? I'm glad you have a local bakery though. It's much better to support a real person than a stupid chain.

Baruch said...

Oh yum, yum, YUMMM. The cupcakes look and sound equally delicious!!