Doughnuts fill hole in China

Patrick Lin is sure he can succeed where others have failed and get the Chinese hooked on doughnuts.

But the doughnuts he is selling won't be readily recognisable to Westerners. They're shaped like pearl bracelets, and toppings include ham and cheese, red spaghetti sauce, salmon, spicy beef and seaweed flakes.

Although the Chinese love McDonald's hamburgers and Starbucks lattes, they have yet to develop a craving for those glazed, deep-fried rings that Americans find irresistible.

Lin feels that being a Taiwanese and therefore familiar with Chinese tastes, he has an edge. He isn't the first to tweak doughnuts for a different palate. He's riffing off a recipe developed by the Japanese.

Many of Lin's doughnut lines follow the Japanese approach of using rice flour for a dense, chewy texture, much like Chinese desserts made of sticky rice.

"The American-style doughnut doesn't sell well in China because it's too much like bread," said Lin. "You can't justify selling it at a price higher than bread. It's also too sweet."

Chinese love fillings so he pumps red bean paste into some of his wares. He's selling a confection like a jelly roll, stuffed with vanilla pudding. A traditional glazed doughnut is sliced in half to add a wedge of cheesecake.

Dunkin' Donuts opened several stores in Beijing earlier this decade, but soon retreated. Now it is back, this time opening seven stores in Shanghai, and plans to open 150 more shops nationwide in the next 10 years.

Another chain, Japan's Mister Donut, also has aggressive expansion plans. It recently opened six shops in Shanghai and plans on 66 by 2013.

- AP