The moniker stuck. And last week several theaters and virtual cinemas nationwide released a 90-minute film by that name chronicling the erstwhile refugee\u2019s rise to the top. \u201cIn the documentary \u2018The Donut King,\u2019 Alice Gu traces the mercurial arc of Ngoy\u2019s American dream,\u201d the New York Times<\/em><\/a> reported in its review.<\/p>\n The film is both inspiring and painful to watch. In it, Ngoy\u2014a former military officer\u2014arrives with his family in 1975 after barely escaping the brutal communist holocaust that killed nearly 2 million Cambodians, about a fourth of the country\u2019s population. Eventually the family gets adopted by a Tustin church, where Ted earns their keep by working as a janitor and pumping gas. One night a coworker at the gas station brings him a doughnut and, Voila! <\/em>Ngoy\u2019s life experiences a magical transformation. He enrolls in a management training class, becomes a Winchell\u2019s Donuts franchisee and, later, opens a shop of his own.<\/p>\n Eventually the immigrant entrepreneur owns dozens of doughnut shops from San Diego to San Francisco. But not only that; he also bankrolls innumerable relatives and countrymen, starting a trend ultimately resulting in 80% of California\u2019s plethora of doughnut shops being owned by Cambodians.<\/p>\n The tale is the quintessential American success story, bolstered by Ngoy\u2019s refugee status. \u00a0\u201cThe United States is a country built by immigrants,\u201d former President Gerald Ford says in the film, echoing America\u2019s longstanding promise to the world\u2019s \u201chuddled masses.\u201d<\/p>\n That promise, as anyone who follows current events knows, has been the subject of some debate since 2016 when President Donald Trump took office vowing stricter enforcement of the nation\u2019s immigration laws. As has the very question of American capitalism\u2019s long-term veracity during the recently concluded Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns.<\/p>\n In the end, Ngoy\u2014like others before him\u2014succumbed to the darker flip side of that capitalist promise; a fierce greed that, in his case, led to an uncontrollable gambling addiction. In due course, it consumed his entire fortune, including the lakeside mansion in which he first shared his story. Finally, the former refugee and his wife returned to their native country where they eventually got divorced.<\/p>\n But the film ends on a more positive note; the doughnut king\u2019s triumphant and nostalgic return to California for a reunion with his grateful beneficiaries. \u201cI am very happy,\u201d Ngoy told me in 1988. \u201cAmerica is a miraculous country.\u201d<\/p>\n Which is the overriding theme of this wondrous film bearing the quirky title bestowed on him first by myself and, ultimately, by a doughnut-craving nation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Want to get Expat Eye every week in your mailbox? Sign up here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n ________________________________________________________<\/p>\n David Haldane\u2019s upcoming book of short stories, \u201cJenny on the Street,\u201d<\/a> is due out in January. A former Los Angeles Times staff writer, he is an award-winning American author, journalist and radio broadcaster whose 2015 memoir, \u201cNazis & Nudists,\u201d<\/a> was a finalist in that year\u2019s New Voices Indie Book Awards. Haldane lives in Surigao City with his Filipino wife and their two children.<\/em> http:\/\/felixr28.sg-host.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
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