Dunkin' Donuts in Korea
On our second morning in Seoul, Korea, my friend and I wanted to grab a quick breakfast before taking the KTX from Seoul to Daejeon. We decided to try out the donuts at the Korean Dunkin' Donuts. I wish I had gotten a picture of their selections, perhaps next time. Price are roughly the same as to Dunkin' Donuts in the States.
We selected 2 sweet donuts, rice stick and rice glazed donut and a savory cheesy sausage bagel.
The rice stick was very dense and chewy since it is made from rice flour which is known to be chewy and sticky. There was a very light black sesame flavor from the bits of black sesame in the dough. Overall, this donut was a plain chewy donut with a hint of black sesame flavor. I wish it was a bit sweeter with a more pronounced black sesame flavor.
The rice glazed donut was unexpectedly soft and pillowy (really threw me off guard). The texture of the dough on the inside reminded me of the inside of a Chinese fried dough stick (youtiao). Unlike the crunch of a normal glaze, there was no extra texture over the donut. The glaze did not taste like rice. It was a slightly sweet syrup that soaked into the outer layer. The taste reminded me of Chinese sweet tofu pudding (doufuhua).
Lastly, I can't really call the cheesy sausage bagel a bagel since it is probably more similar to a pretzel dog. The dough wrapped around the sausage was bready and sprinkled with shredded cheese and herbs. The sausage tasted like a normal hot dog but with a nicer snappy casing. This probably would have tasted better if we had warmed it up. However, it was still pretty good since it was the most flavorful.
All three are very different from each other in terms of texture and taste. I would say my favorite is the rice glazed donut because it had the right amount of sweetness and softness which was really interesting (although I would probably prefer the chewiness of the rice stick donut more).
I will definitely be trying out other flavors (they have a lot of banana flavored ones) that aren't available in the States. Until next time, happy eatings!
All photos taken by Kaity Chen. Please credit if using.