What you need to know about Malaysia’s first I’m donut? at The Exchange TRX which opens today

The popular Japanese doughnut brand, I'm donut?, has opened its first Southeast Asian outlet in Kuala Lumpur at The Exchange TRX.

Renowned for its unique nama donuts, the store offers a selection of over 30 sweet and savory flavors, including 16 Malaysia-exclusive varieties featuring local ingredients like Milo and pandan.

Created by Japanese chef Ryouta Hirako, the brand's expansion to Malaysia aims to integrate its delightful donuts into the local culture with competitive pricing.

With plans for further expansion, the store will remain open beyond sellout times to offer an array of beverages, enhancing the customer experience.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — The city’s love affair with doughnuts just got serious with Japan’s iconic I’m donut? opening its doors today.

Expect long queues outside the 2,000-square-foot store along Market Lane on the ground floor of The Exchange TRX.

Your patience will be rewarded with a chance to select your favourites from a whopping selection of more than 30 sweet and savoury nama donuts to take home in minimalist cardboard boxes featuring their logo.

This includes 16 Malaysia-exclusive flavours incorporating familiar local ingredients like Milo, Cham, pandan and coconut.

I’m donut? comes from the brilliant mind of Japanese chef Ryouta Hirako who didn’t start out as a baker.

In his early days, he ventured into Italian food, opening his own place in Fukuoka.

When he started making bread for his restaurant, he fell into the world of flour and yeast, which led him to open the bakery Amam Dacotan and a bakery cafe Dacomecca.

Like a food fairy tale, Hirako’s nama donut was born from accidentally frying brioche dough at the bakery.

Their first Tokyo outlet in 2022 went viral for its unique texture coupled with creative, freshly made fillings.

The fame spread as more stores opened in Japan and they also conquered the world, expanding to New York, Seoul, Taipei and now Kuala Lumpur, which is their first South-east Asian outpost.

Hirako’s wish for the first shop in Malaysia is simple: “I just want our customers to be happy eating our donuts.”

For those unfamiliar with the brand or this type of donut, one question remains: Is it worth the hype?

Bite into I’m donut?’s Original—a sugar-dusted circular fried dough that puffs up like a tiny pillow—to discover a crisp crust achieved from deep-frying the dough in high heat for a short time.

This contrasts sharply with the light, fluffy interior, which uses kabocha pumpkin in the dough to reduce gluten.

For their Kuala Lumpur store, Hirako explained they swapped the pumpkin for banana, which works the same magic to create the cloud-like donuts.

The texture blows your mind; it has substance yet remains soft, completely unlike other famous doughnuts that feel like you are just eating air encased in a glazed crackly sugar coating.

Even the sweetness is just right for the plain, unfilled Original with its dusting of icing sugar.

The nama donut comes in different flavours, from matcha, chocolate and a decadent Choco Shell featuring a chocolate flavoured nama donut layered with a chocolate coat and topped with cacao nibs.

Different styles include ring donuts, which are either glazed or coated with melted chocolate and nuts, like the enticing Zaku-Zaku Chocolate, which features a crunchy caramel chocolate coat and nuts covering a chocolate-flavoured donut.

There are also cream-filled donuts in different flavours like raspberry, matcha, mango and pistachio plus nama French crullers made with choux pastry and generously coated with melted chocolate.

Currently two savoury donuts are available at the counter: one with a chicken sausage and a generously stuffed Masala Chicken. In future, they hope to introduce more savoury flavours.

I’m donut? flexes its skill with its Malaysia-exclusive flavours, like the Cham-filled donuts, where tea-scented cream and coffee cream replicate the unique flavour of the two drinks.

Hirako has his favourites among the Malaysia-exclusive donuts, like Pandan White Bean and Pandan Coconut Cream.

Pandan White Bean mixes two countries — it matches smooth, sweet Japanese white bean paste (shiroan) with a silky pandan flavoured cream.

Texture makes a difference with the Pandan Coconut Cream, as pandan flavoured dough is filled with a silky coconut cream and stuffed with toasted grated coconut.

A final flourish of fresh coconut flesh strips tops each of the filled donuts.

Other local flavours mash-up include Milo-glazed, Hojicha Kaya Jam and Banana Fritter Caramel.

One local flavour you won’t see at I’m donut? is durian though as Hirako believes, “the durian is nice to eat as it is.”

Grab a matcha drink too, with 12 combinations with coffee, mocha, mango, strawberry and orange, available hot or cold. There’s also hojicha latte and juices.

Hirako also announced that they will serve premium grade Shizuoka Motoyama matcha from the Shizuoka prefecture later.

Prices for the donuts range from RM4.60 for the I’m donut? Original to RM12 for the filled donuts and sandos.

The competitive pricing is close to Japan’s price range of 220 yen (RM5.80) to 480 yen (RM13).

Hirako’s rationale is to make the donuts accessible to all with this price point.

“I want the donuts to be part of Malaysian culture and to achieve that, the price must be reasonable so many customers can enjoy the donuts.”

Unlike stores in Japan that close once the donuts sell out for the day, this store will remain open because they also offer drinks, explained Dan’s Fine Food Operations Manager Shuhei Kondo.

Dan’s Fine Food holds the license for Malaysia and estimates a target of 7,000 donuts freshly made daily once operations stabilise.

Kuala Lumpur is the start for I’m donut? in Malaysia and Dan’s Fine Food confirmed that expanding their footprint is expected later, including a possible location in Johor Bahru.

I’m donut? Kuala Lumpur

GS.05.0, Market Lane,

Tun Razak Exchange, Kuala Lumpur.

Open daily: 10am to 10pm

Instagram :@imdonutmys

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日本知名甜甜圈品牌 I'm donut? 在吉隆坡 The Exchange TRX 开设了其在东南亚的第一家分店。

这家店以其独特的生甜甜圈而闻名，提供超过 30 种甜咸口味，其中包括 16 种马来西亚独家口味，采用美禄和香兰等当地食材。

该品牌由日本厨师平子亮太创立，进军马来西亚旨在以具有竞争力的价格，将美味的甜甜圈融入当地文化。

为了进一步扩张，该店将在售罄后继续营业，提供各种饮品，以提升顾客体验。

吉隆坡，9月12日讯——随着日本标志性甜甜圈店“I'm donut?”今天在吉隆坡开业，这座城市对甜甜圈的热爱变得更加强烈了。

预计位于 The Exchange TRX 一楼 Market Lane 沿线的这家 2,000 平方英尺的商店外将出现长队。

您的耐心将会得到回报，您将有机会从超过 30 种甜咸口味的生甜甜圈中挑选您最喜欢的，并将它们装在印有其标志的极简纸盒中带回家。

其中包括 16 种马来西亚独家口味，融合了美禄、Cham、香兰叶和椰子等当地常见食材。

“我是甜甜圈？”出自日本厨师平子亮太的奇思妙想，而他最初并不是一名烘焙师。

早年间，他涉足意大利菜领域，在福冈开设了自己的餐厅。

当他开始为自己的餐厅制作面包时，他便沉迷于面粉和酵母的世界，这促使他开设了 Amam Dacotan 面包店和 Dacomecca 面包咖啡馆。

就像一个美食童话故事一样，Hirako 的生甜甜圈诞生于面包店里一次意外炸奶油蛋卷面团的过程中。

他们在 2022 年于东京开设的第一家分店，因其独特的口感和创意十足、新鲜制作的馅料而迅速走红。

随着更多门店在日本开业，名声大噪，他们也征服了世界，将业务拓展到纽约、首尔、台北，现在又扩展到吉隆坡，这是他们在东南亚的第一个分店。

Hirako 对马来西亚第一家店的愿望很简单：“我只希望我们的顾客能开心地享用我们的甜甜圈。”

对于那些不熟悉该品牌或这种甜甜圈的人来说，还有一个问题：它真的像宣传的那样好吗？

咬一口 I'm donut? 的原味甜甜圈——一种撒满糖粉的圆形油炸面团，像小枕头一样膨胀起来——你会发现它酥脆的外皮，这是因为面团在高温下短时间油炸而成的。

这与轻盈蓬松的内部形成鲜明对比，其面团中使用了南瓜来减少面筋。

Hirako解释说，他们在吉隆坡的门店用香蕉代替了南瓜，这样也能做出云朵般蓬松的甜甜圈。

它的口感令人惊艳；它既有嚼劲又保持柔软，完全不像其他著名的甜甜圈，吃起来就像是在吃包裹在酥脆糖衣里的空气。

即使是原味、无馅料的蛋糕，上面只撒了一层糖粉，甜度也恰到好处。

生甜甜圈有多种口味，包括抹茶味、巧克力味，以及奢华的巧克力外壳口味，这种口味的生甜甜圈裹上巧克力涂层，再撒上可可碎。

不同的款式包括环形甜甜圈，有的裹上糖霜，有的裹上融化的巧克力和坚果，例如诱人的 Zaku-Zaku 巧克力甜甜圈，它以酥脆的焦糖巧克力涂层和坚果覆盖在巧克力味的甜甜圈上。

还有各种口味的奶油甜甜圈，如覆盆子、抹茶、芒果和开心果口味，以及用泡芙面团制成并涂满融化巧克力的法式生酥饼。

目前柜台上供应两种咸味甜甜圈：一种是鸡肉香肠馅的，另一种是馅料丰富的玛萨拉鸡肉馅的。未来，他们希望推出更多咸味口味。

I'm donut? 凭借其马来西亚独有的口味展现了其精湛技艺，例如 Cham 馅甜甜圈，其中茶香奶油和咖啡奶油分别复制了这两种饮品的独特风味。

Hirako 最喜欢马来西亚特有的甜甜圈口味，比如班兰白豆和班兰椰奶。

班兰白豆融合了两个国家的风味——将顺滑香甜的日本白豆沙（shiroan）与丝滑的班兰味奶油完美结合。

班兰椰奶馅料的口感至关重要，班兰味的面团里包裹着丝滑的椰奶，里面还塞满了烤过的椰丝。

最后，在每个夹馅甜甜圈的顶部都点缀上新鲜的椰肉条。

其他本地风味混搭包括美禄釉、焙茶咖椰酱和香蕉油炸焦糖。

在 I'm donut? 甜甜圈店里，你不会看到榴莲口味的甜甜圈，不过正如 Hirako 所说，“榴莲本身就很好吃”。

还可以来杯抹茶饮品，有12种组合可选，包括咖啡、摩卡、芒果、草莓和橙子，冷热皆宜。此外还有焙茶拿铁和果汁。

Hirako 还宣布，他们之后将供应来自静冈县的高级静冈本山抹茶。

甜甜圈的价格从原味“I'm donut?”的 RM4.60 到夹心甜甜圈和三明治的 RM12 不等。

具有竞争力的价格接近日本 220 日元（5.80 令吉）至 480 日元（13 令吉）的价格区间。

Hirako 的理由是，要让所有人都能以这样的价格买到甜甜圈。

“我希望甜甜圈成为马来西亚文化的一部分，为了实现这个目标，价格必须合理，这样才能让更多顾客享用到甜甜圈。”

与日本商店甜甜圈售罄后就关门不同，这家店会继续营业，因为他们还提供饮料，丹氏美食运营经理近藤修平解释道。

Dan's Fine Food 拥有马来西亚的许可证，并预计一旦运营稳定，每天新鲜制作的甜甜圈数量将达到 7,000 个。

I'm donut? 在马来西亚的首站是吉隆坡，Dan's Fine Food 也证实，预计之后会扩大业务范围，包括可能在柔佛州新山开设分店。

我是甜甜圈吗？吉隆坡

GS.05.0，市场巷，

敦拉萨国际贸易中心，吉隆坡。

每日营业时间：上午10点至晚上10点

Instagram：@imdonutmys

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