The Zakumocchi Dog Curry makes us rethink doughnuts, hot dogs, and Japanese curry.

Japan’s most popular doughnut chain, Mister Donut, has been making us rethink the humble doughnut with new offerings that push the boundaries, and now it’s making us rethink the humble hot dog too.

The new range is called Zakumocchi Dog, with zaku meaning “crunchy” and mocchi meaning “chewy,” and instead of being sweet, they’re filled with savoury fillings. Our reporter Tasuku Egawa was keen to try the entire range, so he headed out and purchased all three when they were released on 5 June, taking them home for a thorough taste investigation.

▼ First up, we have the Zakumocchi Dog Curry.

The first thing to catch the eye on this doughnut dog is the egg topping. Tasuku was expecting it to be half of a soft-boiled egg, similar to what you’d get when requesting egg as a ramen 0r Japanese curry topping, but after picking it up, he discovered…

▼ …it was just a slice of egg.

With a soft-boiled appearance on one side and a hard-boiled appearance on the other, this was an interesting addition, and when he tried a bite of it on its own, it had a lot of flavour, and that flavour only doubled when paired with the curry filling.

▼ He says “curry filling”, but it was really more of a topping, as there was no real cavity in the dough to contain it.

Still, Mister Donut is a doughnut chain, not a curry restaurant or curry bread specialist, so Tasuku thought it was a clever idea to showcase the dough portion of the sweet just as much as the filling. When he bit into it, he found that the taste was very mellow and not spicy at all, but it was incredibly delicious, even when eaten cold, although it’s recommended that you heat it in a microwave before eating for premium flavour.

▼ Next up, we have the Zakumocchi Dog Egg

If you love Japanese egg sandwiches, you’ll love this fusion doughnut hot dog. The egg filling is soft and creamy, making it a perfect complement to the crunchy exterior, taking the egg sandwich to decadent places it normally wouldn’t go.

▼ Finally, we have the Zakumocchi Dog Mexican Meat.

Taking its cues from chili con carne, this dog is said to contain a spicy filling, but to Tasuku’s taste buds, it wasn’t that spicy at all. With tomatoes, beans, ground beef and onions in the mix, this is the most flavourful of the three, and the deliciously gooey cheddar cheese sauce was a serious highlight.

All three dogs are on the menu for a limited time, priced at 308 yen (US$2) each. As a new take on last year’s popular Zakumocchi Ring doughnut, we can’t wait to see what new evolution the crunchy doughnuts will take on next!

Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]