Two most common quick breakfast in America and one likeable sweet treat in Cambodia: Bagel, Donut, and Nom Korng, though may look very similar but are indeed wholly different in character!

 

With their fat round shape and a hole in the center, these three can easily be mistaken as siblings, but they’re only just relatives. Read on so you can get to know the differences and choose your favorite round-thing-with-a-hole goodies!

 

Donut is a soft, sweet, deep-fried dough usually covered in a sweet glaze or other sugary frostings. Equally good, another kind of donut is called cake donut, which is shaped just like our regular donut but has a crumbly-cake-like texture and is served plain or with a chocolate topping. Sometimes, donuts are hole-less, but are instead filled with cream or jelly.

Donut is a sweet treat, it gives us major sugar rush after having it and gets you feeling hungry in a couple of hours.

Here are our favorite places to find Donuts:

Joma Bakery Café - Opens from 7:00AM – 9:00PM

Address: 3 branches (Beung Keng Korng / TK Avenue / Toul Tompung)

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - Opens from 7:00AM – 9:00PM

Address: 3 branches (Beung Keng Korng / AEON Mall / TK Avenue)

Contact: 023 880 880

Big Apple Donuts & Coffee - Opens from 8:00AM – 9:00PM

Address: 5 branches (Beung Keng Korng / Mao Tse Tung / Toul Kork / Kampuchea Krom / Beung Tro Bek)

Contact: 023 211 118

Coffee Plus - Opens from 7:00AM

 

While donuts are sweet, bagels on the other hand are salty. Bagel is a chewy baked dough that has a hole in the center just like its cousin, donut. After shaping the bagel dough, they boil it in hot water instead of oil then bake it lightly to create that glorious crisp brown crust. They are usually topped with seeds or garlic or cream cheese.

But bagel is plain with a touch of saltiness and it leaves you full till the next meal.

Where you can find these beauties? Here are some hints:

Bagel & Bakery SANCHA – Opens from 7:00AM – 5:30PM

Address: No. 24, St. 294, Sangkat Tonle Basak, Khan Chamkamorn, ,Phnom Penh | Google Map 

Contact: 081 822 500

Vego Salad - Opens from 9:00AM – 8:30PM

Address: in front of Wat Lanka on Street 51 (Paster) BKK1 | Google Map 

Contact: 012 984 596 / 011 984 596

 

Now ok, let’s stop mouth-watering for a bit, and shift our focus to our good old local goody, nom korng! Also round with a hole, “nom korng” is also a deep-fried treat, but made from rice flour. Then, they coat it with caramelized palm sugar topped with sesame seeds. Chewy texture from the deep-fried dough and thick crispy caramelized coat, yummmmm! Did I mention it’s a local creation? It’s a local creation!

So we have donuts: soft and sweet, bagels: chewy and salty, and "nom korng": sweet and chewy. Such a dilemma! So which roll with a hole wins the battle? Believe it or not, it’s not that simple! Try them out and let us know your idea in the comment section!