I'm donut? founder Ryouta Hirako at the first Malaysian store in The Exchange TRX. — Picture by Choo Choy May By Lee Khang Yi First Published: Saturday, 12 Sep 2026 8:52 AM MYT KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — The city’s love affair with doughnuts just got serious with Japan’s iconic I’m donut? opening its doors today. Expect long queues outside the 2,000-square-foot store along Market Lane on the ground floor of The Exchange TRX.Your patience will be rewarded with a chance to select your favourites from a whopping selection of more than 30 sweet and savoury nama donuts to take home in minimalist cardboard boxes featuring their logo. This includes 16 Malaysia-exclusive flavours incorporating familiar local ingredients like Milo, Cham, pandan and coconut. I'm donut? Original (left) may look plain but it's all about texture with a crisp crust and light, airy interior. Inspired by 'goreng pisang', this is the Banana Fritter Caramel (right). — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi I’m donut? comes from the brilliant mind of Japanese chef Ryouta Hirako who didn’t start out as a baker. In his early days, he ventured into Italian food, opening his own place in Fukuoka. When he started making bread for his restaurant, he fell into the world of flour and yeast, which led him to open the bakery Amam Dacotan and a bakery cafe Dacomecca. Like a food fairy tale, Hirako’s nama donut was born from accidentally frying brioche dough at the bakery. Two sandos side-by-side but with different flavour profiles: the Matcha Anko Sando (left) uses red bean paste, and the Pandan White Bean (right) combines pandan cream with white bean paste. — Picture by Choo Choy May Their first Tokyo outlet in 2022 went viral for its unique texture coupled with creative, freshly made fillings. The fame spread as more stores opened in Japan and they also conquered the world, expanding to New York, Seoul, Taipei and now Kuala Lumpur, which is their first South-east Asian outpost. Hirako’s wish for the first shop in Malaysia is simple: “I just want our customers to be happy eating our donuts.” Don't forget the delectable filled donuts, a range of different flavours that include the Cham, inspired by the coffee-tea combined drink, and the Pandan Coconut Cream, which has toasted grated coconut inside a pandan flavoured donut and coconut cream topped with fresh coconut flesh. — Picture by Choo Choy May For those unfamiliar with the brand or this type of donut, one question remains: Is it worth the hype? Bite into I’m donut?’s Original—a sugar-dusted circular fried dough that puffs up like a tiny pillow—to discover a crisp crust achieved from deep-frying the dough in high heat for a short time. This contrasts sharply with the light, fluffy interior, which uses kabocha pumpkin in the dough to reduce gluten. For their Kuala Lumpur store, Hirako explained they swapped the pumpkin for banana, which works the same magic to create the cloud-like donuts. Expect long queues of eager donut fans to crowd the store located at Market Lane on the ground floor of The Exchange TRX. — Picture by Choo Choy May The texture blows your mind; it has substance yet remains soft, completely unlike other famous doughnuts that feel like you are just eating air encased in a glazed crackly sugar coating.Even the sweetness is just right for the plain, unfilled Original with its dusting of icing sugar. The nama donut comes in different flavours, from matcha, chocolate and a decadent Choco Shell featuring a chocolate flavoured nama donut layered with a chocolate coat and topped with cacao nibs. Different styles include ring donuts, which are either glazed or coated with melted chocolate and nuts, like the enticing Zaku-Zaku Chocolate, which features a crunchy caramel chocolate coat and nuts covering a chocolate-flavoured donut. There are also cream-filled donuts in different flavours like raspberry, matcha, mango and pistachio plus nama French crullers made with choux pastry and generously coated with melted chocolate. The open kitchen behind orange coloured glass is a hive of activity as everyone works hard to prepare the donuts, such as dipping them in chocolate. — Picture by Choo Choy May Currently two savoury donuts are available at the counter: one with a chicken sausage and a generously stuffed Masala Chicken. In future, they hope to introduce more savoury flavours. I’m donut? flexes its skill with its Malaysia-exclusive flavours, like the Cham-filled donuts, where tea-scented cream and coffee cream replicate the unique flavour of the two drinks. Hirako has his favourites among the Malaysia-exclusive donuts, like Pandan White Bean and Pandan Coconut Cream. Pandan White Bean mixes two countries — it matches smooth, sweet Japanese white bean paste (shiroan) with a silky pandan flavoured cream.Texture makes a difference with the Pandan Coconut Cream, as pandan flavoured dough is filled with a silky coconut cream and stuffed with toasted grated coconut. Remember to get the Zaku-Zaku Chocolate where a chocolate donut is glazed with caramel chocolate and topped with chopped nuts. — Picture by Choo Choy May A final flourish of fresh coconut flesh strips tops each of the filled donuts. Other local flavours mash-up include Milo-glazed, Hojicha Kaya Jam and Banana Fritter Caramel. One local flavour you won’t see at I’m donut? is durian though as Hirako believes, “the durian is nice to eat as it is.”Grab a matcha drink too, with 12 combinations with coffee, mocha, mango, strawberry and orange, available hot or cold. There’s also hojicha latte and juices. Hirako also announced that they will serve premium grade Shizuoka Motoyama matcha from the Shizuoka prefecture later. Prices for the donuts range from RM4.60 for the I’m donut? Original to RM12 for the filled donuts and sandos. Expect long queues of eager donut fans to crowd the store located at Market Lane on the ground floor of The Exchange TRX. — Picture by Choo Choy May The competitive pricing is close to Japan’s price range of 220 yen (RM5.80) to 480 yen (RM13). Hirako’s rationale is to make the donuts accessible to all with this price point. “I want the donuts to be part of Malaysian culture and to achieve that, the price must be reasonable so many customers can enjoy the donuts.”Unlike stores in Japan that close once the donuts sell out for the day, this store will remain open because they also offer drinks, explained Dan’s Fine Food Operations Manager Shuhei Kondo.Dan’s Fine Food holds the license for Malaysia and estimates a target of 7,000 donuts freshly made daily once operations stabilise.Kuala Lumpur is the start for I’m donut? in Malaysia and Dan’s Fine Food confirmed that expanding their footprint is expected later, including a possible location in Johor Bahru. I’m donut? Kuala LumpurGS.05.0, Market Lane, The Exchange TRX, Persiaran TRX, Tun Razak Exchange, Kuala Lumpur.Open daily: 10am to 10pmInstagram:@imdonutmys• Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.