It has been more than 10 years and it’s with a heavy heart – and unencumbered arteries – that we are still lamenting the loss of Krispy Kreme, arguably the arbiter of what a doughnut ought to represent globally (don’t hate us for this opinion).
Where do we turn now for our insatiable doughnut cravings in Hong Kong? We are not stressed nor worried as our research has pointed us to these following spots to dig our fingers deep into some sugary dough.
The best doughnuts in Hong Kong
Mister Donut
Landing in Hong Kong in October 2024, Mister Donut opened with a bang and has continued to enthral Hong Kong diners with the brand’s signature bubble doughnuts. Japan’s top doughnut specialist chain specialises in a range of doughnut shapes, sizes, and flavours, including their old-fashioned, French cruller, chocolate, yeast doughnuts, and churros.
Mister Donut, B103A, B1/F, K11 Art Mall 18 Hanoi Rod, Tsim Sha Tsui
J.CO Donuts & Coffee
Indonesian import J.CO makes the indulgence of doughnuts an incredibly friendly affair for our wallets with 27 doughnut picks. The range spans sugar-glazed doughnuts, to chocolate-dusted doughnuts, to more cheekily monikered options like the Alcapone, a toasted-almond number, and the aptly named Avocado Dicaprio, topped with avocado and chocolate crunch. They also do cream-filled cronut versions of their doughnuts!
J.CO Donuts & Coffee, Shop 1&2, G/F, Righteous Centre, 585 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, 2952 2121
J.CO Donuts & Coffee, Shop B, Haleson Building, 1 Jubilee Street, Central, 2506 3668
Hole Foods
Describing themselves as “that donut place your friend told you about,” Hole Foods is serious about their doughnut business and sugary circular pastries. Their specialty is their bullseye doughnut with creamy filling dunked inside the centre of their doughnuts with raspberry, nutella, and biscoff flavours. They have vanilla custard, chocolate cream, raspberry jam, lemon cream, and condensed milk cream-flavoured filled doughnuts too.
Hole Foods, Shop C, G/F, World Trust Tower, 50 Stanley Street, Central, 9684 7770 WhatsApp
Dough Bros.
Where Dough Bros., Hong Kong’s favourite local pizza chain, excel in, beyond their cheesy and tomato-heavy pies, is their doughnut selection. As noted in their name, doughnuts are a main part of the business. Customers can order plain, regular, or cinnamon-sugar dusted doughnuts with nutella, custard, strawberry, lemon pie, Oreo chocolate, white chocolate pistachio, and Biscoff fillings. The doughnuts keep their bounce after hours of ordering so don’t worry about saving it for later.
Dough Bros., multiple locations across Hong Kong
The Mandarin Cake Shop
The doughnut options to be had at The Mandarin Cake Shop, one of Hong Kong’s oldest Western bakeries with over 45 years in business, are small, but great. Depending on the daily bakery output, their sugary and doughy creations may come through in limited batches. Choose between plain and strawberry jam doughnuts and feel like the fanciest pants around when you bite into one of these high-end doughnuts.
The Mandarin Cake Shop, M/F, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central, 2825 4008, order here
Marks & Spencer
For the budget doughnut lover, there is Britain’s favourite supermarket Marks & Spencer to save the day with their bakery churning out dependable favourites. Stored at the bakery section at the supermarkets, the chain stock chocolate sprinkles and sugar-coated doughnuts for your grab and go pleasure!
Marks & Spencer, multiple locations around Hong Kong
Queen Sophie
Popular bakery chain Queen Sophie is mostly famous for its egg tarts, but that’s not the only pastry trick this queen has up her sleeves. Their doughnuts, dubbed “lucky pastries,” are more rustic looking than others on the market, a little more akin to a cronut than a traditional doughnut, and come in a variety of flavours: caramel, raspberry, passion fruit, cinnamon and blueberry. The crisp outer shell gives way to layers of buttery, flaky pastry.
Queen Sophie, Shop 5, G/F, Kai Fung Mansion, 2-24 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, 2333 1729
Queen Sophie, G/F, 24 Hau Wong Road, Kowloon City, 2333 1728
Yamazaki
Yamazaki is the chain to visit for the standard, run-of-the-mill sugar-coated doughnuts. There are no frills at this Japanese bakery chain in Hong Kong – just a fluffy doughnut when we get hit by the munchies. If you are feeling a little more chi-chi, go for the chocolate-glazed doughnuts or rainbow-sprinkled doughnuts too.
Yamazaki, multiple locations across Hong Kong
Bakehouse
Pastry chef extraordinaire Gregoire Michaud has rendered Bakehouse a name for sourdough egg tarts, salty pastries, and French delights. But, it is their cream-filled doughnuts found at their bakeries that also does the heavy pulling. The chocolate hazelnut and vanilla custard doughnuts are superb with a good chewy interior and just the right amount of sugar coating.