Sunday, July 22, 2007

doughnut plant . new york city

Doughnut Plant
379 Grand Street
New York, NY 10002
Tel: +1 212 505 3700















My mom was about to scream becos bro made the whole family walk through Chinatown in the hot sun; just for a doughnut. As much as my mum loved doughnuts (she kept screaming for Krispy Kremes the whole time she was in the US), she hated the sun a lot more. When we finally got to Doughnut Plant located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and mom sinked her teeth into the Raspberry Jelly Doughnut, her "black" face immediately let out a smile.

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of doughnuts. Even when I eat doughnuts, I usually just go for the regular glazed ones. Now, if you give me any flavour from Doughnut Plant, it'd be different cos I'd gladly chomp it all down regardless of how many calories it gives me.

I had the honour of meeting the man behind the doughnuts itself; Mark Israel and I must say that his passion is what drives the success he has today. He's been featured in a couple of newspapers and even on Martha Stewart! It all started with a recipe his grandfather had left behind which he then worked on from a basement to develop many exceptional flavours (I love stories like this!) using seasonal fruits and fresh roasted nuts in his glazes. All the doughnuts are handmade. There are basically 2 types of doughnuts served; the yeast doughnut which is the fluffy kind that's more common and the cake doughnut which is just a 'doughy' version of a doughnut.














Both versions are equally good although my scale tips in favour of the yeast doughnuts just cos they're softer. The Raspberry Jelly and Banana Pecan doughnuts were really memorable and still remain etched in my mind today. However, I think the best flavour that I tried was the Tres Leches, a Doughnut Plant signature. This is only available as a cake doughnut and it has a condensed milk glaze with condensed milk filled in the doughnut itself. It was so good that I headed straight for them the moment I saw their outlet in Tokyo. Yes, that's the only other city in the world that has a Doughnut Plant outlet. Apparently, they make funky flavours like the black sesame and yuzu.















Whether you're a big fan of doughnuts or not, you're bound to love this place. So if you're in NY or Tokyo, don't give this a miss! Don't say I didn't tell you!!














That's not the owner of the store. Just a friendly guy who works there and willingly helped me to pose with the doughnuts.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

i'm hooked.

The Daily Scoop
41 Sunset Way
#01-04 Clementi Arcade
Tel: 6463 3365
Website: http://www.thedailyscoop.com.sg

D just threw me a challenge yesterday. Yup, he challenged me to lose 5 kgs within a year. Basically he told me that he wished to see me in my anorexic look which I had after my 1st semester in Perth. Before you get alarmed, his definition of "anorexic" is basically just me being slim cos I've never been that way my whole life except for that rare couple of months. I told him I could try but he can dream on about me getting my "anorexic" look back cos that would take more than 5kgs. HA!

Not that this entry is going to help much with the weight loss cos I came on to tell you that I'm hooked on ice cream again. Not just any ice cream flavour but the AVOCADO flavour from The Daily Scoop. I was in a bit of a craze last year when all the little ice creameries opened. It was so bad that I gained weight from it although I had a pact at that time with my gal friends that we would lose some weight before our eating spree in Taipei.

Honestly, I'm a huge avocado fan. I can eat the whole fruit on its own. Even tried eating the whole fruit with vanilla ice cream through a friend's recommendation before. However, avocado ice cream? Anyways, the ice cream was creamy like the fruit itself but didn't have a too overpowering flavour. It was delicious.

So next time you're visiting The Daily Scoop, give it a shot. If you're a big avocado fan like me, you'll love this too.