If you haven’t heard by now, the Manila Social Club’s Golden Cristal Ube Donut is the latest in extravagant food trends. The donut is filled with an ube mousse and Cristal jelly, frosted in Cristal icing, and then topped with 24-karat gold dust and gold leaf (if you’re like most people and don’t know what ube is, it’s a purple yam). The donut sells for the low price of $100, or for you bargain hunters out there, $1,000 for a dozen of these babies.
If you are someone that has $100 to shell out on a single donut, by all means, help yourself. But as a college student, there are a few foods I definitely would not be willing to sacrifice in order to justify spending that kind of money on a piece of fried dough. Here’s what $100 looks like in terms of more familiar foods:
25 Iced Lattes
Photo by Sarah Yanofsky
That $4.50 latte sure seems a lot cheaper when you compare it to a $100 donut (see Mom and Dad, I could be spending my money on worse things). If given the choice between 25 iced coffees or a single donut, for the sake of my sanity (and GPA), I would have to go with the coffee.
33 Bagels
Photo courtesy of @everything_bagels on Instagram
A donut covered in gold leaf cannot cure a hangover. Bagels cure hangovers. In theory, the luxury of eating something covered in gold sounds awesome. But then I remember that all-too-familiar moment of waking up feeling like I’ve been run over by multiple trucks, and I wouldn’t trade a bagel for anything.
14 Burrito Bowls
Photo by Heather Harris
This one might be a bit more controversial in light of recent events, but I still think 14 burrito bowls trumps (hehe) a donut. Plus, burrito bowls are even more economical for those of us blessed and/or cursed with small stomachs; it’s like getting two meals for the price of one.
11 Smoothie Bowls
Photo by Collette Block
This one’s for all you basic betches out there. While you might be tempted to cough up $100 because of the Golden Donut’s immensely high Instagram potential, that money could also be spent on smoothie bowls that could give you 11 separate, and much more colorful, Insta posts. #doitforthegram
25 Pints of Ben and Jerry’s
Photo by Becky Hughes
If you’re going to eat junk food, you might as well get your money’s worth. $100 can get you one donut that will last you about 5-10 minutes OR it could get you 25 containers of ice cream. Just think about how many breakup cry sessions that much Ben and Jerry’s could last you…
20 Drinks
Photo courtesy of thehillsbar.com
I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. At a typical college bar, most rails cost around $5, which makes the Golden Donut worth 20 drinks. When given the choice of getting turnt and doing literally anything else, I’m pretty confident that any college student would choose the alcohol.
40 Slices of Pizza
Photo courtesy of @pizza on Instagram
You could throw away $100 on a single donut, or you could wisely invest that $100 in 40 separate instances of late night pizza, the king of all drunchies. Refrain from buying the donut – your drunk self will thank you later.