Kuala Lumpur is one big shopping mall.
Catering to everyone and simultaneously shielding them from eternal thunderstorms, the many malls here fluctuate between the exorbitantly priced to the street peddler styled. Fast food chains, fine dining restaurants, cafes, bakeries, belly dancers, designer stores, hairdressers, roller coasters, arcades, Chinese crystal stores and many, many doughnuts litter these safe havens and are a fraction of the things that will cross your path. Malaysian weather has dictated that we shall “go out” indoors, in expansive houses of consumerism and for the most part, we do.
Let’s go back to the doughnuts though. Have you visited the world of doughnuts recently? Upon moving to this city and frequenting its many shopping malls, I noticed the queues of people wrapped around mall corners, waiting patiently for their turn to come. What were they so organized about? Surely I wouldn’t willingly choose to stand in a line that long, unless I was getting my driver’s license renewed in Egypt, and even then the idea of a “line” there is almost laughable.
By standing in line, I have silently promised the people waiting behind me to make my choice swiftly and move on to the cashier. If I am to be completely honest, I am extremely indecisive and that makes it difficult to keep that sort of promise. Let’s put it simply: I’m usually the last person to decide what I’m ordering at dinner. Thus, I avoid lines.
Back to my subject of doughnuts. What sparked my interest is that those lines that I am so afraid of, three years later, are growing longer and stronger and everyone’s favorite pastime is now lining up for doughnuts. The doughnut daze is still rocking Malaysia and unless you’ve been living in a cave, you will have taken part at least once. With world-renowned chains competing against regional ones, the race to churn out the warmest, freshest and most creative of doughnuts is a fight to the finish, albeit a very organized fight.
On a rare day, I found those lines to be dwindling. Lunch hour was coming to an end and I, unlike others, did not have to run back to a desk job. Holding onto this opportunity for dear life, I stood at the end of the somewhat short line and began to understand why people took the time to stand here. If it’s true that we eat first with our eyes, then lining up at Malaysian doughnut stores is a thorough sensory experience.
Waiting for your turn provides you with a chance to watch the doughnut process from start to finish and through that, you get to view the many different flavors on offer. What I enjoy most about this process of mixing, shaping, frying, glazing and displaying is that it really gives you the time to decide. By the time you’ve reached your turn, your excitement levels have reached that of a Justin Bieber fan and your heart is usually set on a box of six, at least.
Yes, you’ll end up looking like Homer Simpson for a week but you treat yourself anyways because you’ve been waiting for so long. You deserve it. No one leaves with just one.
Among the things I’ve come to love most about these stores is the thought behind the flavor combinations — that and that they’ll give you cutlery if you’re eating there. Not only are you bombarded (like the rest of the world) with Western flavors but also the diversity in Asian-influenced flavors is tremendous. Playing to the tune of customer demand, the ingredients and thus the end results are redefining the doughnut — matcha tea imported from Japan, Belgian chocolate, kiwi jelly from New Zealand and expire-in-an-hour durian doughnuts, based on South-East Asia’s durian known as the “King of Fruits,” that brings with it a penetrating odor so pungent that many consider it offensive.
So will we have to wait until the doughnut craze abroad is ending to begin ours? Our doughnut market in Egypt seems largely untapped despite these popular hand-garnished rings making bold moves abroad. The doughnut once associated with blue-collar folks is showcasing its new self in specialty doughnut shops with high-toned flavor selections rivaling its counterpart, the recently gentrified cupcake.
Will we once again be fashionably late or will we see better local doughnuts in Egypt before the big corporate donuts get there? More importantly, will the new Egypt ever stand in line?
Sugar Doughnut Muffins
Makes 24 mini-muffins/10 standard muffins
You’ll need
3/4 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon of baking power
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of milk (low fat is fine)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar, for rolling
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Lightly grease a muffin tin with vegetable oil. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and egg until light in color. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour the dry mixture into the egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in the vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups or 24 mini-muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes for standard-sized muffins or 11-13 minutes for mini-muffins, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
While muffins are baking, melt the butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl. When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Leave to cool before serving.
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