Donuts in Canada. Doughnuts You Say?
June 4th is Donut Day, so I thought it best to talk about doughnuts in Canada. Yes, I could share about admissions, universities, and scholarships and as important as they are, every student needs recreation and life outside the classroom. Therefore, in celebration of Donut Day, here’s to going out with friends and taking in a Canadian experience.
I have lived in Pakistan for over 10 years and there is just not a doughnut shop in the country that rates my top reviews. Per capita, Canadians eat more doughnuts than any other nation in the world. So that pretty much makes me a connoisseur on doughnuts. I think, that gives my vote on doughnuts in Pakistan, credence. Dunkin Donuts, though an international franchise doesn’t cut it. Jalal Sons do okay, but oh for a Canadian made doughnut!
If you are a Pakistani student who plans to study in Canada, then you need to know about doughnuts. You too might want to join the throngs of Canadians who eat these delicious sweets of icing covered delectable, sweet bread with a hole in the middle. Well, most of the time until you eat a Bismarck doughnut.
My mother made doughnuts. I make doughnuts. It’s a Canadian thing. But nowadays, the world has gone commercial, and we buy our doughnuts. Where are the best donut shops in town? There will be bakeries everywhere. To name a few, try Plant Joy in Windsor Ontario. Her customers put her above 5 stars. Or try Cartems Donuts in Vancouver. And if you are a student in Alberta, the best doughnuts are a hike from Edmonton. If you are ever travelling north to Grande Prairie, stopping at the Crooked Creek General Store is a must. As one of their customers said on Trip Advisor, “Friends told me that I had to stop at Crooked Creek General store on my trips to Grande Prairie to try their donuts. I did twice so far. The donuts are exceptional. And the cinnamon buns are literally out of this world, they have a sweet butterscotchy gooey icing that is to die for. It is definitely not something you can eat while driving so relax and enjoy it to the fullest.” And if there isn’t a specialty doughnut shop around, students can always find a Tim Hortons. There are over 4600 Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada, so just around the corner is a doughnut just waiting to be eaten by you.
Another cultural note about Canada. You may have noticed that I interchanged donut and doughnut. So, what is it? The preferred spelling is doughnut for American, Canadian and British English, as per dictionaries such as Merriam-Websters, Oxford dictionaries and Oxford Canadian. Yes, Canada has their own brand of English, but that is another story, for next time.
A taste of life in Canada is going out for doughnuts at your closest bakery, coffee shop or Tim Hortons. There is one just off campus at the University of Alberta. But blame Tim Hortons for changing doughnuts to donuts.