Japan Super Budget Dining – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at Doutor?

Eleven enticing orders for budget-conscious diners at one of Japan’s top coffee shop chains.

Japan Super Budget Dining, is back again for another shot at how best to spend 1,000 yen (US$6.69) in Japan’s most common eateries. The last challenge at Mister Donut left our reporters with stomachs as round as doughnuts, so it took a little time for them to work up their appetites for the next one. The venue in question this time is Doutor, Japan’s own coffee chain that regularly hits the top three on lists of favorite coffee shops to visit.

As prices in Japan continue to rise, the future of our Japan Super Budget Dining series is becoming increasingly uncertain. Putting together a satisfying order for just 1,000 yen is becoming more challenging, but it could also be seen as being more exciting, with our reporters racking their brains for the best meals they can come up with.

Before we dive into their creations, let’s quickly review the rules. The goal is to find the most effective way to bring out the full potential of 1,000 yen—even being just one yen over results in elimination. Our reporters should also focus on creativity and their knowledge of the menu.

▼ Go Hattori’s “Extravagantly Eating Doutor’s Most Delicious Food Set”

German Hot Dog: 290 yen
Lettuce Hot Dog: 330 yen
Iced Caffe Latte (small): 380 yen
Total: 1,000 yen

Go has long heard that Doutor’s most delicious food item is its German Hot Dog. However, he’s always preferred the lettuce hot dog, so when faced with dilemmas like this, he turns to his motto of “When in doubt, choose both”. Paired with the sweetness of an iced caffe latte, he managed to perfectly match the given budget.

▼ Masanuki Sunakoma’s “Regular Customer’s Challenge With Just Two Items Set”

Tapioca Kokuto (brown sugar) Milk: 600 yen
Chewy Sakura Dorayaki: 280 yen
Total: 880 yen

Being a regular customer, Masanuki has his go-to choices when it comes to his two or three visits every week, particularly enjoying the blend coffee for its flavor and relatively low price. However, with a higher budget than normal, he decided to go all out and opt for something other than his beloved coffee. With spring around the corner, the seasonal chewy sakura dorayaki was added to his list, alongside the tapioca kokuto milk, which is one of Doutor’s hidden gems.

▼ Takamichi Furusawa’s “Afternoon Delight Set”

Mille Crepe Cake Set: 690 yen
Cheese Toast: 280 yen
Total: 970 yen

With spring in the air, and the desire to spend a comfortable afternoon at Doutor, Takamichi settled on a good value-for-money selection of the cake and drink set, plus some cheese toast. While some may say the choice of mille crepe cake and iced coffee is a standard one, Takamichi feels that this combination is simply sublime, and makes for the perfect afternoon tea.

▼ Takashi Harada’s “Feasting Heavily From Breakfast Set”

Morning Set A ~ Ham & Egg Salad (small ice coffee): 480 yen
German Hot Dog: 290 yen
Toast: 220 yen
Total: 990 yen

Even though it’s just breakfast, one slice of toast simply isn’t enough for Takashi, and so he proudly presents his over-the-top breakfast feast. Decisively settling on the ham and egg salad sandwich from the breakfast menu, he included both a hot dog and extra toast, to fill up his grumbling stomach.

▼ Yuichiro Wasai’s “Doutor Recreation of the Legendary MSN Set”

Blend Coffee and Mille Crepe Cake Set: 740 yen
Sweet Potato confectionary: 180 yen
Total: 920 yen

Yuichiro loves Doutor’s mille crepe cake and, while he still believes it to be value for money, enjoying it with a blend coffee can set him back over 700 yen. In a bid to save a few extra pennies, he’s been experimenting pairing the coffee with cheaper sweets, and stumbled upon the surprisingly suitable Sweet Potato. Combining these three power items, Yuichiro compares them to the legendary MSN attack lineup of FC Barcelona (Messi, Suárez, and Neymar). “It’s simply unstoppable.”

▼ Mr. Sato’s “Soft-Serve Ice Cream + Espresso = Affogato Set”

Espresso (medium): 330 yen
Soft-Serve Ice Cream (cup): 350 yen
Cheese Toast: 280 yen
Total: 960 yen

While not many people know about it, some Doutor locations offer soft-serve ice cream and shakes. The ice cream is made with 100 percent fresh milk from Hokkaido, and can be enjoyed on its own or as a topping for a cold drink to make a float. Mr. Sato states that only a true connoisseur orders ice cream and an espresso to create their very own affogato.

Although he filled out the budget with some cheese toast, Mr. Sato would like to make it known that he would have been perfectly satisfied with just the ice cream and espresso.

▼ Seiji Nakazawa’s “Spring Bread Festival Set”

Toast: 220 yen
Toast: 220 yen
Toast: 220 yen
Cheese Toast: 280 yen
Strawberry Jam: 20 yen
Blueberry Jam: 20 yen
Marmalade: 20 yen
Total: 1,000 yen

For Seiji, spring means “bread” (and lots of it), so he decided to have his very own Doutor Bread Festival, incorporating three orders of toast and one order of cheese toast. Supplementing his order with Doutor’s 20-yen jam selection, he brought his order to a perfect 1,000 yen. Apparently, upon ringing up his order, the cashier cracked a smile, but whether he was sharing in Seiji’s festival spirit, or utterly bemused by the sheer amount of toast will continue to remain a mystery.

▼ Yoshio’s “Ultimate Satisfaction Set”

Blend Coffee (small): 280 yen
German Hot Dog: 290 yen
Tuna with Cheddar Cheese Hot Sandwich: 420 yen
Total: 990 yen

Ever since his student days, Yoshio has been ordering a German Hot Dog on every visit to Doutor. For him: “Doutor equals German Hot Dog,” and there is no disputing it. The combination of crispy sausage and lightly toasted bun makes for a best-selling masterpiece. Given that this was a special occasion, Yoshio also decided to try out the tuna with cheddar cheese hot sandwich for the first time, finding it to also be insanely good. Eating both the hot dog and the hot sandwich outside the store made the coffee taste exceptional.

▼ Doutor-lover Mariko Ohanabatake’s “Secret Shake Satisfaction Set”

Milano Sandwich A (dry-cured ham, boneless ham, bologna sausage): 490 yen
Coffee Shake: 470 yen
Total: 910 yen (including the 50-yen set meal discount)

Self-proclaimed Doutor expert Mariko shows off her knowledge of how best to incorporate a meal, drink, and dessert into a 1,000 yen budget, something that is becoming increasingly difficult to do at the formerly budget-friendly Doutor. She says the way to go about it is to order a shake. While not all stores offer them, their provision is slowly expanding. Mariko claims that its ultra-thick, rich flavor easily surpasses that of a Starbucks Frappuccino. Putting that together with the classic Milano Sandwich makes for a sensational meal.

▼ Ahiruneko’s “Ultimate Takeout Set”

Cheese-in Milano Sandwich A:550 yen
Mille Crepe Cake: 440 yen
Total: 990 yen

Ahiruneko couldn’t understand the point of trying to force a drink order into a budget of 1,000 yen, especially since the chain doesn’t offer his favorite category of beverages: alcoholic ones. Had Doutor been selling something a little stronger, he would most likely be singing a different tune, and he opted for a pair of Doutor food staples: the Milano Sandwich and mille crepe cake, which he found to be extremely tasty.

▼ P.K. Sanjun’s “Supreme Breakfast Set”

Morning Set A (ham and egg salad, large coffee): 580 yen
Tuna with Cheddar Cheese Hot Sandwich: 420 yen
Total: 1,000 yen

P.K. believes that Dotour’s breakfast menu is where the chain truly shines, with the simple Morning Set A showing off the best of its charm. Aside from the standard Milano Sandwich and German Hot Dog, P.K. reckons that Doutor’s hot sandwiches are insanely delicious, deserving a place alongside the former two in the minds of regular customers.

With Go, Seiji, and P.K. all coming out of the store with no change to spare, the challenge is a difficult one to judge this time if we’re basing it solely on money spent. However, let’s not forget Mr. Sato’s creative affogato, or Mariko’s Starbucks-trouncing shake suggestion, as both showcase their knowledge of the menu. Even though 11 of our reporters took part, similar items cropped up again and again throughout, attesting to not only their popularity, but also their deliciousness. So, if you’re wandering around, looking for a light meal, Doutor has some great options available.

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