‘Tis the season of the “Summer Gentei” (“Summer Specialties”) in Japan; an exciting time of year where near every food vendor in the country offers up some sort of cold, frozen, or energy-packed limited edition summer-themed menu. And even the foreign chains are getting into it, with Krispy Kreme Japan currently offering three new summer-only doughnuts and two summer-themed drinks. Because we love you, we went and stuffed our faces.
As reluctant as we were to brave the Tokyo heat again, we couldn’t resist the sweet siren call of delicious, fresh-made Krispy Kreme doughnuts, especially when our bosses were footing the bill. So, donning our USB neck coolers and sexy fundoshi, we trudged out into the still, heavy, air of Tokyo – a feeling akin to swimming around in a pool full of warm milk – and dragged our pale, scrawny bodies to the nearest Krispy Kreme, hissing curses at the high-hanging and oppressive sun like foul-tempered vampires.
Finally reaching the twinkling oasis of the Yurakucho Marui department store and its gloriously chilled basement Krispy Kreme, we panted our order and were rewarded with three heavenly, fresh doughnuts and a refreshing drink:
First, the Macadamia Chocolate Doughnut:
Not the fanciest of new offerings, the macadamia chocolate is just a standard chocolate glazed doughnut with a sprinkling of crushed macadamia nuts. To Krispy Kreme’s credit, however, they don’t skimp on the macadamias – which in Japan are pricey and somewhat rare. There was plenty of macadamia in every bite, and they tasted fresh, slightly roasted and crunchy, perfectly complementing the chocolate glaze and fluffy doughnut.
Next up, the Pineapple & Coconut:
This one is glazed with a light pineapple jelly coating, sprinkled with coconut flakes and topped with a pineapple wedge. The doughnut itself is again a standard glazed, but we were surprised at the mildness of the pineapple jelly and how well it paired with the chewy coconut flakes. In our honest opinion, though, the pineapple wedge takes something away from the overall product. It seems to be slightly candied and is impossible to bite in half, so you’re forced to just take the whole chunk on in one go, which overpowers all the other flavors and is almost a chore to chew.
Finally, the appropriately named Mango King:
For our money, the Mango King took the cake. It’s a custard doughnut coated with a crunchy white chocolate and mango glaze. The mango-flavored custard is creamy and smooth and Krispy Kreme has wisely made sure that it is just mild enough so as not to overpower all of the other flavors. We were tempted to order another dozen of these, but thought better of it, since we’re sporting fundoshi for the rest of the summer and all that mango custard would go straight to our hips.
Lastly, we washed all of this down with a new Peach & Lemon POP: a carbonated, peach-flavored soda poured over lemon flavored gelatin. The carbonation and the gelatin play off each other surprisingly well and we found ourselves sucking down the entire drink in a matter of seconds. This really is a drink for summer.
▼ Well, enough with these silly words. Onto the doughnut porn!
If you’re in town for the summer and find yourself in desperate need of some air conditioned facilities, you could do worse than the nearest Krispy Kreme, where you can enjoy these limited edition menu items at the same time. Just don’t tell them RocketNews24 sent you; we’re not welcome back in since we refused to leave their divinely air conditioned facilities for three days straight.
Photos: RocketNews24