Taste Local

Singing a Song of the Perfect Donut

Every morning at 3:00 a.m., the music starts for Thit Kim, owner of the Donut Palace in Moore. For Kim, making donuts is every bit as intense as a great singer performing in concert.

“People that are great at singing songs focus on singing each note perfectly,” said Kim. “When they do this, the music is so romantic and beautiful. For me, it’s the same way with making donuts. Every step in the process is like singing a perfect note in a song. If you focus on each step you end up with a beautiful donut.”

Kim’s passion for producing the perfect donut has generated a loyal customer base and earned the Donut Palace a first-place finish in this year’s Best of Moore and South Oklahoma City awards. As excited as he was about winning, his customers were even more thrilled.

“Our customers are like family to us,” said Kim, “So it’s been really fun when they come in the door and see the trophy on our counter. They are very happy for us.”

Kim, who is originally from Cambodia, moved from San Diego to Oklahoma in 2008. He says that he worked in a donut shop and didn’t really like it. But then came the chance to have his own donut shop in 2013. “I bought the business on May 1 of 2013,” said Kim. “I learned to make donuts from a friend who owned the Donut Palace in Noble. He trained me how to make the donuts and I’ve kind of added my own touch to the process.”

At first, he ran the operation by himself, coming in at 1 a.m. daily to begin the process of making donuts. Kim’s wife was still living in Cambodia at the time as he struggled with the immigration process of bringing her over to the United States.

“It took almost five years to get her over because for some reason, the immigration officials suspected that we had a fake marriage,” said Kim. “We had met in 2010 and married in July of 2011. It normally takes 8-months to a year, so we spent all that time communicating by phone and internet until I could get her here.”

His wife was finally allowed to immigrate in December of 2015. Since that time Kim, who goes by the nickname of “Polo,” and his wife come to work each morning at 3 a.m. to begin the process of making some of the area’s best donuts.

“At 4 a.m. we start to roll the donuts,” said Kim. “And then we begin to cook them at 5 a.m. so they’re hot and fresh each morning.”

Kim says that all of the products at the Donut Palace are made fresh each day. At the end of each day’s shift, the leftover products are disposed of so that customers arriving each morning will have the freshest donuts, kolaches, and other pastries available. Their dedication to the art of making perfect donuts has generated a loyal customer base.

Donut Palace 900 SW 4th Street 405-799-7530 Monday – Friday: 5 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturday/Sunday: 5 a.m. – 1 p.m.

“We have so many regular customers,” said Kim. “And a lot of them come in almost every day. We’re so proud to be a part of a great community like Moore because there are so many wonderful people here.”

Even with a wide selection of donuts and pastries, Kim says the basic glazed donuts are the most popular. And for good reason. They are among the lightest and most delicious donuts you’ll ever have a chance to eat.

Kim and his wife also have a great memory and so, if you’re not one their regular customers, you’ll likely be found out and treated like royalty.

“We like for new customers to get a chance to try some different things,” said Kim. “So we will always give them something for free so that they can experience a sampling of what we have.”

And of course, there’s the music that Kim uses to guide him as he makes those donuts, seven days a week.

“I know it sounds kind of silly, this idea of music and donuts,” said Kim. “But it works for me and it means our customers get great donuts. So that’s good enough for me!”