Dawn Images

Donuts are a mysterious food. They're completely unsophisticated (I mean, it's fried dough) and usually sidelined by top confectioners yet they continue to capture our imaginations... and our appetites.

Some of this appeal has to do with the fact that donuts are amazing comfort food: fluffy, doughy mouthfuls that satisfy you when all your stomach wants is carbs. So where does one find a great donut in Karachi?

Dunkin Donuts has dominated the donut category ever since it made its debut in Pakistan nearly two decades ago. Their freshly baked double chocolate glazed donuts are a personal favorite of mine. But with new outlets entering the field, I decided to set out and give these newbies a chance.

The two most talked about franchises so far are Whoops and Donutz Gonutz so these were obviously where I needed to go.

Where and when to go

Both Whoops and Donutz Gonutz are located on 10 Badar Commercial, Phase 5, DHA and right across each other as if already prepared for a face off. Convenient!

I first head to Whoops which is on the left (if you enter from the KFC side). I was aware of the many kiosks the franchise has, like the one at Naheed, Centarus at Islamabad and both Al-Fatah stores in Lahore and Faislabad, but did not know about their proper full-service outlet: Whoops is a café with a proper menu and what not, ranging from burgers to pastas to gourmet fries.

Heading to Donutz Gonutz only requires a U-turn and you’re there, although that is one out of four branches. Donutz Gonutz is a bakery and has three other outlets at Nishat Commercial lane 3, Rahat commercial building Phase VI and near student Biryani at A market Phase 2, all are in DHA Karachi.

What to eat

I was surprised to find out that Whoops don’t serve 'real' donuts. They serve mini-donuts.

They let me know that they make these mini donuts fresh only on order and that they are made without yeast, which is a formulation unique to them. They also recommend eating them as soon as the temperature allows you to.

I tried two mini-donuts: the cinnamon icing sugar and the dark chocolate topping.

My experience with the Whoops mini donuts was a happy one. A very happy one. Starting with the cinnamon icing sugar, I bit down on it and was pleasantly surprised at the variety of textures this small two-bite confection contained. The aromatic sweet and gummy icing coated a crunchy exterior which contained a soft centre loaded with donuty, doughy flavor.

I had barely finished it when I was compelled to pick up the next one. My palate was greeted with a generous amount of dark chocolate. This topping was not dark enough for my taste but then again, I could eat a cacao bean raw. However it was still delicious without being overly sweet like many generic donut toppings.

I headed to Donutz Gonutz across right after. The bakery was loaded with an amazing variety of confectionary ranging from brownies to mini-cheesecakes.

I decided to ask the people at the desk what they would recommend, hoping to be given a great experience. They recommended their signature donuts in kit kat and nutella.

Unfortunately, these weren't anything out of the ordinary. The kit kat signature donut featured generic dough with white chocolate chips filling the centre and a mini kit kat on top. The nutella donut was shaped unusually and was filled with, yep, you guessed it — nutella. The nutella filling made it very dense. The donut was topped with a frosting that wasn't quite smooth enough, the texture of granulated sugar was obvious.

I wouldn’t say these donuts were bad, just nothing new. They didn’t seem to amaze me in the way Whoops did, the main difference being how the mini donuts were fresh and hot while Gonutz were premade and on display. Perhaps if I hadn’t tried Whoops I would’ve been able to like it more.

Of course, one has to keep in mind that Whoops is more than a donut joint, it's really a cafe. Donutz Gonutz, however, could easily rival franchises like Dunkin if it upped its game. Unfortunately, right now if I wanted a good generic donut, I’d stick with the double chocolate glazed donut at Dunkin. In terms of what's new and good, the mini donuts at Whoops are a win for me and I am eager to hit their café for the café experience.

Damage on the pocket

A box of six mini donuts at Whoops will cost you Rs160 which is the same price for two signature donuts at Donutz Gonutz. Both places seem to have very decent rates.