On the rare occasion when I went to a mall in the very southern part of Jakarta (and not accessible by public transportation), I would make sure to buy something that was not available (yet) in my neighborhood. That was Nama Donut, when I visited Pondok Indah Mall after being here for the last time in 2019. I was surprised to learn that they had just launched PIM 5 now, making a total of four extensions…how massive do they want the entire complex to be?? (There is no PIM 4 though, for obvious reasons.)
Apparently, the name Nama Donut derives from literal nama donuts (生ドーナツ), which means “raw” or “fresh” in Japanese. Using Japanese-style claim as a part of their branding, I wonder if Nama Donuts uses kabocha for their dough.
It was the second day of Eid-al Fitr in the evening, and they already sold out a lot of flavours. I asked the staff if the favorite ones were still available and she nodded, pointing to Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Custard, Banana Chocolate and Crunchy Peanut Butter. I shrugged and bought all four. Each donut roughly cost twice as much as one J.CO or Dunkin’ donut.
This was probably the first time I tried pumpkin donuts. It felt like I was biting a fluffy pillow. Very, very soft. The texture was not the soft and wispy type like J.CO donuts – instead it was soft yet dense. Was it because of the overflowing cream inside? Despite the pleasant texture, I couldn’t comment much about the taste. All of these four flavours had one thing in common: very light in taste. Not too sweet is one hundred percent better than artificial sweet in my book, though.
Overall, pretty good donuts but I don’t see myself purchasing another box for myself. I think my heart still belongs to freshly fried potato-based donuts.
Final thoughts:
Food: 7,5/10 | Service: 7/10
Cute fluffy texture, extremely light flavour. Could be an alternative for baby boomer mothers who condemn sweet cakes and have trouble munching food.
Nama Donut
Outlets in Jakarta, Depok and Surabaya
