鹽埕李二 [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: 鹽埕李二 現烤甜甜圈 (Yancheng Lee 2 Freshly Baked Doughnuts)
Address: No. 213-7, Xinyue Street, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung
Website: facebook
Style: Doughnuts
Price: $  

Tucked away inside a blink-and-you'll-miss-it alley, this small doughnut pumps out what was my first (and definitely not my last) taste of what I will now call the Taiwanese baked doughnut. I almost want to say Southern Taiwanese, because once I hit a certain latitude these quaint doughnut stalls, with workers rolling hot doughnuts with sugar in bamboo baskets, seemed to just disappear. Taipei was definitely a crispy milk doughnut zone, so perhaps it really is a regional thing?? Either way, baked doughnuts are made of a multi-layered, croissant-like dough that is first rolled and folded, then curled round into a doughnut mould and baked in a waffle maker-like doughnut machine. After that, they come out piping hot and are tossed in a sticky sugar that clings to the dough and creates a sort of all-around glaze. They're not too sweet, a little crispy, a little flaky... good stuff!

So how did this one fare? This stall in particular was unique in that they offered these flaky baked doughnuts in a variety of flavours that included brown sugar and chocolate. For the sake of reviewing, however, I like to keep things simple, so I went with the original ($25). The outside had a nice sweetened crust, though the crispier edges and overgrown centre got a bit too candied. Inside, the dough was soft and slightly airy; I love that texture. This doughnut in particular, though, was served at room temperature - I would have loved to have it warm like I did elsewhere. A good, very promising start in the world of these delectable doughnuts.

Rating: ***