Friday Feature: Food I'd Like to Eat, Doughnut Edition

I really like doughnuts, they're the perfect excuse to eat fried dough and various fillings. You might've guessed this from my profile photo, caught mid-doughnut. Fact is, the best doughnut I ever had was the St. John custard doughnut, right here in the UK. However, I always want what I can't have...or what I had before and won't have again anytime soon, so I keep up to date on donuts worldwide. That hole is representative of Earth, you know.

(picture taken from Krispy Kreme USA's site)

Ah, cheesecake! Ah, graham crackers! Ah, cream cheese icing! Aw...USA only. Goofy because everyone likes cheesecake, right? I suppose the only thing that won't translate easily nor be can be sourced worldwide is the graham cracker topping, but I'm about to get real real with you...Digestives are close enough. There, I said it. They're much harder to crush, but once you do, the difference is pretty negligible. They're soft-ish, sweet but salty-ish, basically they're graham cracker-y enough to get over the differences, and this is coming from someone who would send a cheesecake back straight into the baker's face if it was made with a Nilla wafer crust. Don't even ask me what I think about cheesecakes without crusts unless you're looking for a fight.

Anyway, cheesecake filling rocks and cream cheese icing is always a hit--explains the success of carrot cake, at least. Bring this to the UK, Krispy! I'll personally vouch for other biscuit crumble options.

(picture taken from MisDo's Japanese site)

I really love mochi, because it is like eating chewy, half-baked food without the fear of salmonella. Also they usually have fun fillings or sides, like red beans or sesame, or anything else that goes well with chewy and vaguely sweet food. From what I can tell, and I do not speak Japanese (as evidenced by my crummy Chrome translation) this is a extra chewy doughnut made with mochi flour. I love the cute chocolate decoration of a lion face in the middle, and apparently underneath it there is somehow cream! Maybe the doughnut just looks like a ring, and actually has a thin little base to it. The whole thing is in the image of Mister Donut's mascot, Pon de Lion, star of this adorable commercial and many others.

There is no place on Earth, with the possible exception of Disneyland, that treats food with such whimsy as Japan. Even just buying something at a convenience store, the presentation is usually impeccable, the freshness is much lauded, and there is a fantastical flair to lots of stuff that most people would happily just stuff in their maws without thinking. You want some plain white bread? Look for the package with a picture of a smiling dog drawn by some famous guy! Limited editions also come with brand or artist collaborations, and personally, I love it.

I love the idea of eating candy that some pop star allegedly had a hand in creating, that just does something nice to my brain. Katy Perry and Popchips really warmed my heart, even though I know it is just shrill commercialism and Katy Perry has no known connection to kettle corn, I just like to think that a company is really, really trying, and willing to do incredibly silly things to win me over--and hell, who doesn't like new flavors and weird things to comment about?

What I'm saying is I'm ready for our corporate overlords so long as they're willing to get right down here in the mire and try to appeal directly to me: things like Pepsi x Space Ghost 'Ghostberry Blue Pepsi', or Nick Cave presents Salted Caramel Cream Puffs. Do that, and I will toil in your corn fields until the cows come in.