J.Co Donuts

Sixty-five years after his death, America’s best-known gangster Al Capone is hogging the headlines once again, but this time on a sweet note as he was resurrected in the form of a donut! Made from soft, light dough topped with Belgian white chocolate and almond slivers, this ring donut is heaven in every bite.

A signature concoction of J.Co Donuts and Coffee, a popular lifestyle café chain in Indonesia, Alcapone is taking Southeast Asia by storm as it is undeniably J.Co’s best-selling donut variety. The good news is sweet-toothed Pinoys aren’t left out as J.Co opened its first branch at The Strip in SM Megamall.

The brand is known for its quirky donut flavors and catchy names, carrying variants such as Alcapone, Blueberry Moore, Avocado di Caprio, Mona Pisa, and Heaven Berry, to name a few. The names are reminiscent of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Here, diners can indulge in 30 donut varieties such as green tea, avocado, tiramisu, blueberry, candy cane, mango, cheese, pizza-flavored donuts, and chocolate, which keeps donut fans of all ages coming back for more.

“The secret lies in the best ingredients sourced from around the world: Belgian chocolates, Californian almonds, American honey, New Zealand cheese, and Japanese matcha green tea,” shares Trina Lim, VP for marketing, Contemporain Foods Inc., the company who brought J.Co Donuts and Coffee to the country. First-time diners can opt for J.Pops, J.Co’s miniature donuts, to have a taste of everything in small doses — more times the fun but with less guilt.

Pizza-donut, anyone: Mona Pisa is a savory donut with sliced bits of sausage on top.

We were like kids in a candy store during the opening. The eye-catching colors and the designs of the donuts on the display counter tickled our senses. Who could resist the Strawberry and Chocolate Caviar donuts? The caviar (chocolate-flavored cereals) on top of the donuts made the luscious coating more appealing. Green Tease, the matcha green tea flavor, was mixed into the creamy topping; Tira Miss U are mocha-flavored donuts with choco dust; and Why Nut has an American peanut butter filling.

Don’t leave the place without ordering Mona Pisa, a savory donut with sliced bits of sausage and cheese; and J.Co’s J. Club Cheezy Rich Donut Sandwich, which looks and tastes like our local ensaymada with four types of cheese.

Although J.Co is an Indonesian brand, the interiors of the café aren’t exactly Asian. The cozy hangout has this Venetian feel to complement its exciting brews made from select Italian roasted Arabica coffee.

Donut resist: With 30 varieties, J.Co Donuts and Coffee offers diners a whole new adventure in savoring that good old donut.

Within a span of nearly seven years, J.Co has grown to 100 outlets across various cities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and recently began its foray in China and the Philippines. It was founded by Johnny Andrean, a businessman who also owns the BreadTalk franchise in Indonesia, who finds the Philippines “interesting.” And so when Contemporain Foods Inc. (CFI) president Oszen Chan expressed his desire to bring the brand to the country, Andrean agreed in a heartbeat. And the rest, as they say, is history.

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CFI is set to open six more J.Co branches at SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, Greenbelt 3, TriNoma, SM Fairview and Alabang Town Center by the third quarter of this year. J.Co’s flagship store at The Strip of SM Megamall B is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.