Driving through Thai Thinh Street (Dong Da, Hanoi), if you don't look for it, it's hard to see a super small donut shop, nestled between two large stores, hidden behind a tree. Diners often recognize this place by "looking for a shop with a lot of people standing in line".

The traditional donut shop of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh's family (30 years old) moved to Thai Thinh street nearly 5 years ago. To save costs, the owner chose to rent a small shop with a frontage of more than 1 meter, quite hidden from view due to many obstacles. However, this donut shop still attracts a lot of customers in Hanoi. Every day, the shop opens from 7am to 6pm, and is always crowded with customers. "In winter, from 3pm onwards, customers will line up on the sidewalk waiting to buy donuts. At this time, 2-3 people are needed to serve them in time," said Mr. Khanh.

Mr. Khanh's shop only sells two types of traditional donuts: sugar donuts and honey donuts. From the recipe passed down from his grandparents, the shop owner changed some flavors to suit the tastes of most diners.

Instead of making sweet fillings, the owner switched to making salty fillings to neutralize the taste buds, reducing the feeling of extreme sweetness and fullness when eating.

Sugar donuts use white sugar, honey donuts are made from molasses. According to the owner, this is molasses specially ordered from Moc Chau (Son La). "This type of molasses is not popular in Hanoi. I took the trouble to find a reputable factory so that the sweetness on the cake is natural, not harsh, ensuring that the molasses layer when melted sticks evenly, covering the cake," said Mr. Khanh.

The finished dough is dropped into the first pan of oil to soak, and when it floats, it is then taken to the frying pan. Frying is the most difficult step because it requires adjusting the temperature to suit each stage. When first transferred to the frying pan, the oil must not be too boiling, causing the dough to dry out and burst because the inside has not fully expanded. The heat must be increased gradually so that the dough can gradually cook. Each batch of dough takes about 30-35 minutes.

Drain the oil from the fried dough and move on to the final step. Cook the white sugar and molasses in two separate pans until melted and liquid. Add the fried dough and stir quickly so that the dough is evenly coated with molasses and sugar.

In contrast to the hard, crispy and sweet crust is the smooth, salty and rich green bean paste filling. The amount of filling is adjusted just right so that when bitten, the green beans spread evenly over the entire cake but do not spill out. Sugar donuts are loved by diners in the summer, honey donuts are often in high demand in the winter.

The donuts are quite large, about the size of a palm, each person can eat 2-3 to be full. Both types of donuts cost the same 6,000 VND each.

Dat and Phuong (from Thai Nguyen), two regular customers of the donut shop, shared: "We have been eating donuts at this shop for more than a year. Every time we go back to our hometown, we stop by here to buy some to bring back as gifts for the whole family." According to the two young people, the donuts here have a traditional flavor that is quite familiar and easy to eat. However, the waiting time to buy donuts is quite long, and the shop is small, so we often cannot sit and eat at the shop.

Although he does not sell wholesale to any other establishments, Mr. Khanh's donut shop regularly receives large orders, about 100-200 donuts. In the photo is an order of 100 donuts: 50 sugar-50 honey, delivered to a retail customer in Cau Giay (Hanoi).

Every day, the shop sells about 7,000-10,000 donuts, with the peak season selling more than 12,000 donuts. Although the facade and processing space are small, the donut shop still brings in an average of 50-60 million VND/day in revenue.

Photo: Nguyen Ha Nam

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/ha-noi-quan-banh-ran-thu-50-trieu-dongngay-khach-xep-hang-cho-mua-20241110021025594.htm#&gid=1&pid=10