Got Kreme-d

The displays at Krispy Kreme is enough to give teeth cavities!

Malaysians waited a long, long time for Krispy Kreme to come to Malaysia. I never realized just how many Malaysians have had a KK experience and yearned for more, until the chain (brought in by Berjaya), opened in Malaysia about two years ago in Times Square. The Malaysian Times Square, not the Times Square in NYC.

Kit and I went to that outlet a few days after the opening. He’d never had a KK doughnut, (that comes from living in Ireland half your life!) and was eager to cut his sweet tooth on some. I, was excited because the last time I wanted a KK, I flew myself to Bangkok!

We both think KK has the best doughnuts amongst the donut players in Malaysia – Dunkin Donuts, Big Apple and J Co, the amazing Indonesian franchise. However, we are old enough and conscious enough of the number of gym sessions it takes to burn off a half dozen of these sinners, that we limit ourselves. It also helps that KK opened outlets in places not much frequented by us.

My six-pack!

However, we were at Sunway Pyramid on Saturday and could not resist being the first ones in the outlet. Funnily enough though, this outlet did not have their famous neon sign which is switched on each time fresh doughnuts come out of the fryer.

Tastes like coffee but they don't say anywhere that it is!

Still, I got us a six-pack (if only the real ones were this easy to send out for!) and a coffee for me. I did not plan on a coffee, but the Tasty Caramel Chiller turned out to be a frozen coffee. I really wish they’d make it very clear that Chillers were their version of ice blended coffees. Really, wouldn’t YOU be misled if you saw on the board ‘Chillers’ followed by ‘Fruity’ and flavours like Passionfruit, Raspberry and Orange Blast and then under the heading ‘Kremey’, flavours like Tasty Caramel, Velvety Vanilla, Dainty Green Tea and Yummy Cookie? Doesn’t the last list scream ‘non-coffee’ to you? It did me! So I was not too happy a puppy with my coffee Tasty Caramel. If I wanted coffee, I’d have an illy espresso. And a cute little pig on top of it too, if I had my way!

Anyhow, we had six doughnuts to enjoy with the coffee. The assorted half dozen costs RM15. I chose Caramel Cookie (loved the crumbly bits of cookie and the caramel net over it), Original Glazed (still the gold standard, so crisp and light!), dark chocolate (did not get to this one), Glazed Chocolate and Vanilla Cake (I don’t like the crumb of these, they are too dry and crumbly. Nothing will replicate Dunkin Donuts’ first cake donuts), and the New York Cheese Cake (graham cracker top and some fondant-y lemony filling made this quite interesting).

While I definitely see the appeal of these doughnuts (after all, the brand is 72 years old, with a 1937 founding), I think there is a generation of kids who are growing up to associate these calorie bombs as their version of Grandma’s or mum’s baking because one is probably passed on or in a nursing home, while the other is too busy trying to keep the family solvent in a two-income family.

Case in point was the family who were in the outlet with us. The elder boy was nearly four and he demolished three doughnuts in huge bites. His dad told me he could eat these zero nutrition items ad infinitum, but would struggle to finish a sandwich. And the parents continue to let him eat this! And shrug off his 1am bedtime. To top it off, the kid drinks coffee! And only the Coffee Bean ice blended. Oh.My.Lord. Kit tells me to stop imposing my belief system on other parents, but after I see incidents like this, I wonder that chains selling all these treats should have a consumption cap on doughnuts for kids under 12, and a strict No Minors policy on coffee.

Where is Jamie Oliver when we need him? Oh, that’s right. He’s home, with his kids, cooking them real food and undoubtedly baking some real treats too!

I’m sorry for the rest of the populace but I am so glad I have a husband who bakes and a father who cooks to feed my kid while I am out making a living!