Monday, December 7, 2009

Eat Your Heart Out, Krispy Kreme


I was very disappointed when I arrived in Pharping a month ago, only to find my favorite "donut" store (see picture) closed. Unlike American versions, this donut is not a sugar rush, although it's probably a grease rush. Cooked in an oil-filled wok and moved around with a stick, the slightly sweet dough ends up light, crispy, and chewy. Golden circles of goodness without preservatives, they have a short shelf life, but that's no problem 'cause they taste so good!

Imagine my chagrin when I learned the smokey, step-down room without a name past the Guru Rimpoche statue where the donuts, and only donuts, are made had been closed for over a week, and the surrounding shopkeepers had no idea when it would reopen, if ever. After all, the larger, more consumer friendly Quality Bakery and Chai Shop down the road was cranking out more than enough donuts in smartly wrapped plastic wrappings. But their dounts were not chewy and were not as light. They were more like cake or bread, and played second fiddle to the bakery's brightly colored cakes. And those of the super bakery in Kathmandu, the Nanglo empire whose products were sold in thousands of stores in the valley, were even worse. Sigh.

Then, late yesterday, hallelujah, I learned the donut store reopened, so today I promptly went up to Pharping for my donut fix, and was not disappointed. I went down the three stone steps into the smokey room, paid the baker stirring the cooking donuts in the wok with a stick, and his assistant rewarded me with 6 warm donuts in a ubiquitous black plastic bag. I immediately ate one as I walked down the road. Life is good! --Jerry in Nepal

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