A New Take On Doughnuts with J.Co Donuts

My Discovery:

I'm more of a home person, I keep in touch with the latest via online. One of the things I heard about J.Co was the long line their patrons brave just to get a dozen or even just a piece of their donut. When the Eastwood branch opened, I was in the vicinity with my family. Oh boy, talk about the longest of lines. I thought, maybe it's new that's why it's famous, same thing when Krispy Kreme and other imported brands first arrived here in the Philippines.

Other than reading posts and shout outs online, I learned J.Co through my husband and my mom. My husband who's constantly around Makati discovered it in one of his ventures. My mom, who goes to Alabang Town Center to spend time with her "amigas" (friends) accidentally discovered J.Co Alabang because they were in search of a new place where they can hangout have dessert, tea or coffee. 

The Bad

Please take note that this is not a review for J.Co Donuts or for any company. This is purely based on my opinion and experience.

If there are good things said about the doughnuts of J.Co, when it comes to their over-all services and management, particularly at the Eastwood branch, sad to say, it's chaos. We went home disappointed during our recent visit.

One evening, we went to Eastwood to have dinner and before going home we decided to drop by J. Co Donuts for dessert. It wasn't full that night, it was a good evening to get some doughnuts.

After the girl from the counter placed the doughnuts I chose in the box, he showed me a number, which will be called later at the cashier. You know what's unbelievable? I waited for almost 20-30 minutes  for my number to be called.

What happened to the box of doughnuts I saw they were preparing for me earlier? 

Where did it all go? 

What were they doing with the doughnuts that it took them 20- 30 minutes to finally hand it to me.

Not only that the doughnuts were served late, as we waited, my husband went to a different counter to get us some cold drinks. An Iced Cafe Latte,  a Chocomint Frappe for our son and a Jcoccino Frappe for me. So we thought that the cold drinks will settle for the long wait... but to our surprise, we  waited 20 minutes for our drinks. There weren't any lines at the beverage counter by the way... So finally, the barista called out my husband's name to claim our drinks, but when my husband reached the counter, the barista told my husband "ay sandali lang ha..." what the?!  It took another 5 minutes. Again, what kept them from giving us our order on time.

The Eastwood branch was also a hot spot that night, like, literally hot. As if the air-conditioning isn't working. We were perspiring!  I gotta say, it was much cooler waiting outside the store. There were other customers complaining as well.

Anyway,  there will always be considerations made. The Eastwood branch is J.Co's latest addition to it's growing business here in the Philippines. Hopefully, soon, they will improve even more.

The Good: 
On the lighter side, I must share that J.Co Donuts are good.

Knowing my mom, being choosy and particular with the food she eats whom in a way, I consider a "food critic", her opinion greatly matters.  In one of our family dinners, she brought home a box of J.Co Donuts for dessert. That was the first time I tasted J.Co. So I asked her, "mahaba ba ang pila?' (was the line long?) "masarap ba naman?" (is it that good?) 

Her answer was: Malinamnam. (It's good, rich and tasty.)  It's my first time to hear someone describe a doughnut as "malinamnam".  With the box my mom took home, I got small slices from all the flavors. Slowly chewing it, tasting the bread, gauging  the richness, sweetness, flavor and texture.

Assorted doughnuts are not really for me. Original Glazed/ Honey Dipped/ Sugar- Raised/ Chocolate Dipped... I'm more into the plain ones and I don't mind buying from any doughnut shop as long as I get my doughnut fix. Especially if you have kids around, it won't really matter where you buy it :D

As we can all see, it's just doughnut, it's the "malinamnam" part that made it more interesting for me.

My Choices: 

J.Co's line of flavoured donuts is now in my list. It met my preference when it comes to flavoured doughnuts.  They are indeed "malinamnam". J. Co doughnuts are not as sweet too. Instead of the sweetness, the taste concentrates on the flavors which sinks in the doughnut bread itself. I like it because if it's not too sweet, then it's going to be healthier for the kids. You know, kids+ too much sugar = not really good. 

We all have our favorites. So far, any of these doughnuts should be included in our box.

Creme La Fame: Love the filling and the coating. Again, it's not sweet but it's tasty and rich.

Coco Loco: As always, my son's favorite--- and mine too. Rich dark chocolate filling.

Mr. Green Tea: The crushed almonds coating the glaze made it delightful.

Green Tease: This, I prefer to be eaten cold. It makes the green tea glaze taste a little like chocolate.

Blueberry More: And who doesn't like blueberry. This has got to be the richest blueberry flavoured pastry I have tasted so far. It's jelly like coating holds not to make it sloppy to eat.

Alcapone: Alcapone is said to be J.Co's bestseller. For me, it was just plain. The almonds may have nailed it to add texture, but the taste... there's nothing to it. Well, we all have our own preferences. My mom loves it. 

I like my J.Co donuts cold. The coating doesn't harden and it doesn't crack leaving bits and pieces everywhere. Even if refrigerated, the dough itself is still soft and chewy. Blueberry More in particular is very refreshing to eat when cold.

Aside from doughnuts, J.Co is also famous for their coffee,  teas and cold beverages. I'm not a heavy coffee drinker. So far, I have my eyes fixed on their house specialty: Jcoccino Frappe. On my next visit, I'll try something else.

There may be some bad calls in this post. But I guarantee, that every J.Co Donuts & Coffee visit is  worth it. With their new take on doughnuts, hopefully, J. Co will continue to prosper here in our country.

eMeals Works!

 As a stay at home mom, I still do have struggles when it comes to preparing food for my family on a daily basis. As much as possible, I try not to serve something boring or anything that's been served over and over again. Part of my job is to make sure that my family eats healthy food, with great variation and something that will make them happy both inside and out. Here's a great option for the busy moms. Spending most of your time at work? and individuals out there. eMeals does not only make our weekly menu planning easy, but it can also be a great way when you're preparing for parties or gatherings of all sorts.

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• Pick a plan.
• Get recipes.
• Shop and save money for the ingredients.
• Relax and enjoy! try it out now .

Here's an emeals review  by Fat Fighting Mom. It's a healthy alternative than take- out food. When I studied menu planning in college, a meal is always well-balanced. As for Fat Fighting Mom "There were far less carbs in the meals with a lot more fresh veggies and fruit!"--- which I find really healthy. With eMeals, us moms will discover new, healthy dishes to serve our family. It will make family time more exciting. Our kids will look forward to something different everyday that will also bring excitement in them. At the same time, with proper menu planning the whole family will not miss meals in a day or they will not go overboard when it comes to eating as well.

I will surely tell my family and friends in America about eMeals.

On The Look for a Greek Restaurant

As part of my food adventure, I reward myself with various cuisines. When and if I travel, sightseeing will come in as second best. Because no. 1 in my list is food tasting. I've tried authentic dishes even within the busy streets of Manila. It's a thriving city with lots of restaurants that offers authenticity. One of my goals this year is to be able to dine in a Greek Restaurant . I was just talking to my husband about it the other day. In relation with my husband's work, most of the time, his company sends people to New York City to do some training in their main office. Part of the travel was also to tour the city and go on a food adventure.

One of the restaurants that caught our attention was Niko's Greek Taverna. Located at the heart of New York City, it offers a wide range of authentic Greek dishes. Click Here .

So I told my husband to try it once he goes on a business trip to New York and even recommend it to his people who will be flying there soon. 

Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Mezés, meaning, a selection of small dishes paired with wine. Mezés is very common in their menu. Hummus (which is my favorite) is often also included.

Visit nikostaverna.com for more info.