The doughnuts at this tiny shop are as Instagrammable as they are delicious

Some people seek local beer when they travel, others coffee, historic restaurants or famous street food. Seung Kim and Damian Ahn want doughnuts.

All those roads have led these two friends to Gig Harbor — specifically to a tiny storefront with a modest bakery in back, where Milkvue Donuts churns out an Instagrammable array of classic and modern delights.

“We knew they needed a doughnut shop,” said Kim. For years he worked in the plaza across the street as a manager at AT&T. “I’d buy doughnuts for my staff, but I couldn’t buy them in Gig Harbor — I didn’t want to buy Safeway doughnuts.”

He would stop in Tacoma, often at Pao’s.

Gig Harbor should consider itself lucky. Milkvue Donuts, which opened last December, is destination-worthy and for three reasons: freshness, flavors and mochi.

“We’re not just putting your standard glaze or sprinkles on,” explained Kim, though of course, they do that, too.

Perhaps the best example is a flavor Kim added per customer request.

Rather than serve a plain raised doughnut — the classic, yeasted fluffy ones made famous by Krispy Kreme — Milkvue infuses the glaze with vanilla beans. Enhancing the sugar-dusted variety, the shop rolls the warm, hand-cut dough in cinnamon sugar, like a churro.

Other alluring flavors include horchata, blueberry lavender, cookies and cream, lemon sprinkled with Fruity Pebbles cereal. Even the “chocolate decadence” is more than meets the eye, a supple cocoa dough with a “very rich” fudge glaze.

“It’s fun to see our regulars come in and experience it over and over again,” said Kim. “That’s part of the reason we wanted to give unique flavors. We wanted to give people a reason to come back.”

He was inspired in part by shops like Blue Star Donuts in Portland, where modern flair meets old-fashioned technique. In Gig Harbor, baker Eva Nunez, with a flick of her wrist, paints each doughnut with a pristine glaze.

Core flavors range from that vanilla bean and chocolate sprinkle to maple bacon and raspberry. Kim has also developed a catalog of rotating flavors such as Earl Grey and honey ginger. Some are available only on weekends when a line usually forms outside the sleek shop, minimally decorated with black walls and white lettering.

“Carb Loading Hours,” reads the open schedule pasted on the door. “Make Hole Foods,” you’ll see when you make it inside, greeted warmly by staff and the doughnut display, carefully lined with the shop’s four styles.

At least one fritter should be in your order, whether it’s the textbook apple, brimming with more cinnamon and fruit than most others, blueberry, raspberry or chocolate. This summer, Kim experimented with seasonal options including cherry cola, bananas Foster, s’mores and blueberry pie with streusel on top.

“We like to have fun with our flavors,” he said.

MOCHI DONUTS

Customers also have latched onto a rare find: mochi doughnuts, also known as pon de ring, made with the same glutinous rice flour commonly found in Japanese sweet cakes and ice cream.

Using an extruder popularized by Japanese franchises of the Mister Donut empire, which America’s Dunkin’ Donuts bought in the 1990s, Milkvue’s version exemplifies the wonderfully chewy texture that any mochi lover will appreciate. A series of smaller dough balls connected by their glutinous fibers, mochi doughnuts stretch more than their wheat counterparts, not unlike fair-favorite elephant ears and funnel cakes.

The mixer hovers over the hot oil, extruding the sticky dough one by one. They fry for about 90 seconds on both sides. Kim turns them with a long chopstick and then lifts the grate out, hot fried dough in tow.

Snag one straight out of the fryer for the ultimate mochi doughnut revelation.

“Mochi itself is very different in texture — it’s very sticky by nature,” explained Kim.

Some customers still prefer the classic raised, but, he said, “We have regulars who get the mochi. It’s definitely a mainstay for our store now.”

Though predominantly rice flour, Milkvue’s version is not gluten-free, as it contains tapioca starch and a bit of wheat. Kim hopes to develop one, but for now the best chew comes from this combination of ingredients, he said.

The small storefront is takeout only, though with amenable weather, you can enjoy a cup of Olympia coffee or any espresso drink at one of two patio tables. A half-dozen doughnuts will set you back about $18, including tax, but you should probably go ahead and order a baker’s dozen. The 13th is on the house.

MILKVUE HANDCRAFTED DONUTS + COFFEE

▪ 4901 Point Fosdick Dr., Gig Harbor, 253-432-4529

▪ Hours: Monday-Wednesday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Thursdays)

▪ Details: $2.99 per raised doughnut, $2.49 per mochi and cake doughnuts

This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 5:05 AM.