I was walking down the Sanjo-kai Shotengai Shopping Arcade (which is kind of like a smaller version of the Nishiki Market) when I saw this stand selling creme brulee doughnuts. I literally did a double take. I can’t say no to a creme brulee doughnut. I’m not a monster. So obviously I bought one.
The proprietor actually spoke perfect English, and he asked me if I was planning on eating the doughnut right away. Well, obviously. What, am I going to walk around with a creme brulee doughnut and not eat it immediately? Again, I’m not a monster.
So he told me he’d make me a fresh one, which was pretty much the best thing anyone has said to me in a long, long time. He went into the back, and a couple of minutes later he came out with a sugar-topped doughnnut that he torched right in front of me.
A few minutes later (as much as I wanted to eat it immediately, the idea of getting scalding hot sugar stuck to my face wasn’t particularly appealing), it was ready to eat.
It was just as good as I was hoping. First of all, it was a cake doughnut, and: yeah. Correct. Cake doughnuts are clearly superior to raised doughnuts. That’s just a fact.
The crispy, crackly topping was absolutely perfect, and the filling was creamy and delicious (though a more of a pronounced custardy flavour would have been nice). Plus, the doughnut itself was still warm and fresh. Even if it wasn’t that great (and it was that great), this alone would have made it fairly delightful.