Mister Donut Novena Donut Shop: S$26.80 Pon De Ring Box

Mister Donut, at 238 Thomson Road, #01-72/73 Velocity @ Novena Square, Singapore 307683, is the Japanese chain's ground-floor shop beside Novena MRT, and it opens 11am to 9pm every day. The draw is Pon De Ring, the ring of eight linked mochi-textured dough balls that made the brand famous in Japan. A box of 10 plain-glazed Pon De Ring costs S$26.80 on the official online store, and the counter is fully cashless.

The first Mister Donut opened in Minoh, north of Osaka, in 1971, when founder Seiichi Suzuki's shop reportedly sold 4,000 donuts an hour on its first day. The chain now has more than 900 stores across Japan, according to its Singapore site. Here it is run by the local restaurant group RE&S in partnership with Duskin, the Japanese company that owns the brand, and the menu is split between Japanese classics and a few items made only for Singapore.

The Novena shop opened in July 2023, as reported by Eatbook, in a district dominated by Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the Novena medical towers and the offices above the mall. It is a grab-and-go counter for people passing through the MRT concourse rather than a café to linger in. Arriving soon after the 11am opening gives you the widest choice, before the lunch crowd starts working through the trays.

Pon De Ring is the reason to come. The dough is chewy rather than cakey, and each ball pulls away cleanly, so it is easy to share. The plain glaze is the purest version. Pon De Ring Chocolate and Pon De Ring Strawberry both add a coating, and the Oddle store prices each of those at S$28.80 for a box of 10. If you only buy one, buy the glazed and eat it within the hour.

Pon De Lion is the mascot turned into a donut: the same mochi ring coated in white chocolate and a golden crunch, S$28.80 for ten online. The savoury Flossy Pon De Lion range is the surprising one, topped with Japanese mayonnaise and chicken floss; the mixed box of Fluffy Floss and Spicy Floss Lion is S$30.60. Skip it if you want a classic sweet donut, but it is a very Singaporean twist worth trying once.

Pon De Kopi-licious is the local-flavour pick, a mochi ring infused with Nanyang kopi and coated in coffee milk chocolate, S$28.80 for ten. It tastes like a sweet kopi-c in donut form, and it is a good choice for colleagues who usually say no to dessert.

The brand's promotions page lists Pon De Lion's Spooky Treats at all outlets this October. The Halloween Mixed Box online holds two each of Halloween Spidey, Halloween Mummy and Halloween Monsta and costs S$20.50. Spidey and Monsta are chocolate donuts in a citrus chocolate shell topped with an Oreo cookie, while the Mummy is a yeast donut wrapped in chocolate with a creamy chocolate centre.

Seasonal items are sold only for a few weeks and while stocks last. If you want them specifically, come earlier in the day or pre-order a box online for pick-up, rather than counting on them at the end of the evening.

The rest of the case follows the Japanese line-up. Old Fashion is the cookie-style cake donut, crunchy outside and dense inside, and Chocolate Fashion is the same dough dipped in chocolate, S$28.80 for ten online. Two items exist only in Singapore: Golden Chocolate, a moist chocolate dough under a crunchy golden topping that also contains orange, and Strawberry Chocolate, the chocolate dough coated in strawberry-flavoured milk chocolate.

For a mixed box with something for everyone, pair a few Pon De Ring with Honey Dip, the airy yeast ring coated in honey. A box of ten Honey Dip is S$26.80, the same as the plain glazed Pon De Ring, and the softer yeast dough is the better choice for small children who find the mochi texture too chewy.

There is no cash payment at any Singapore outlet. The official FAQ says the shops accept PayNow, NETS and credit or debit cards only, so have a card or phone wallet ready. Mister Donut is not halal-certified, but the same FAQ states that no pork, lard, animal gelatine or alcohol is used in the donuts. Every donut contains wheat, egg, milk and soybean, and the Golden Chocolate also contains orange.

Office orders are common here. For bulk orders the company sets a minimum of 100 pieces and a cap of 500, arranged by email with its corporate sales team rather than at the counter. For a smaller treat, the online store sells mixed boxes of 10, such as five glazed and five chocolate Pon De Ring for S$27.80, which can be collected from the shop.

If the case is thin when you arrive, the brand's locations page lists about ten other Singapore shops. The nearest from Novena are a few MRT stops south, such as the outlet at 313@somerset on Orchard Road, so a sold-out tray here does not mean the end of the plan.

Velocity sits directly above Novena MRT on the North-South Line, so you can walk out of the station and into the mall without stepping outside. Across Thomson Road, United Square at 101 Thomson Road is the big children's shopping mall, useful if you are out with kids. A ten-minute walk north brings you to the Church of St Alphonsus, known to everyone as Novena Church, whose Saturday novena services draw large crowds.

For a fuller afternoon, carry your box south along Thomson Road to Balestier Road, about fifteen minutes on foot, where rows of pre-war shophouses hold old-school bakeries, kopitiams and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall. Its gardens are a quiet place to open the box.

Address: Mister Donut, 238 Thomson Road, #01-72/73 Velocity @ Novena Square, Singapore 307683. Hours on the official locations page: 11am to 9pm daily. Nearest MRT: Novena (NS20), with a direct underground link.

Storage: the brand recommends eating the donuts on the day you buy them, or refrigerating them for up to one day and taking them out 30 minutes before eating. It advises against reheating, which dries out the mochi ring.