Kawaii Donut House celebrates grand opening inside Olympia’s Red Lantern Asian Fusion

Would you believe that 13-year-old Brandon Pham is the mastermind behind some of the best donuts in Thurston County?

Give Kawaii Donut House a chance and you might just become a believer. Located at 120 Fifth Ave. SW, Olympia, inside of Red Lantern Asian Fusion’s newest location, you can purchase some of Kawaii Donut House’s most popular flavors, including matcha lavender, cookies and cream, cinnamon sugar, taro and seasonal specialty flavors. Additionally, the business sells bubble tea with a wide assortment of flavors to wash down the delicious donuts.

According to Pham and his mother, Tiffany Lin, co-owner of Red Lantern Asian Fusion, the sweet treats sold inside of the restaurant are chewy, Japanese-style michi donuts. They said the donuts are known for their unique flower shape and their soft, bouncy texture.

While Pham is just 13-years old, he named the business, drew the logo and devised many of the flavors of flower-shaped mochi donuts. He’s even helped sell products and interacted with customers at farmers markets and events throughout the last three years while attempting to grow Kawaii Donut House. Prior to opening a physical location, Pham and Kawaii Donut House appeared at local events and markets, where the chewy donuts quickly became a favorite.

“It’s a family-run business. We worked really hard for this and we’re very glad to be opening up Kawaii Donut House,” Pham said. “We started in 2023 as a small business. We were trying to test it out and piloting it. It’s very fun doing this. You get to meet a lot of nice people while you’re doing it. You see their enjoyment when they like the donuts. Every season I get to experiment with new flavors too.”

According to Pham, the donut menu also includes flavors like mango, strawberry, birthday cake and Nutella — in addition to the previous flavors mentioned as favorites.

“With the menu, we try to round up to what our customers like,” Pham said. “There’s a lot of people that have a lot of variety with what they like, so we try to create more well-rounded flavors. My favorite is Nutella, because, well, I love Nutella. I thought, ‘what if we melted it and put it on top of a donut?’”

In addition to the donuts, Pham said Kawaii Donut House also sells bubble tea — which has been a staple of Red Lantern Asian Fusion and their dessert business for quite some time. He said some of the most popular flavors include honeydew, watermelon, mango, taro and strawberry.

The 13-year-old added that he’s learned a lot of working in the food industry throughout the last three years of Kawaii Donut House’s existence. He’s also grateful that he’s able to absorb knowledge about cooking from his parents, Hung Pham — chef at the restaurant — and Lin.

“I’ve learned a lot from working with my parents. Now, I cook at home and bake at home. I’m proud that I have parents like this because I get to learn a lot more about cooking and the industry,” Pham said. “Thank you to my mom and dad because they’ve taught me a lot about manners. They taught me a lot of things. They’re the reason why I’m baking and cooking.”

His mother, Lin, holds the same sentiment toward her son. She said she’s extremely proud of the young chef.

“I am really proud of Brandon. He’s 13 years old now. A lot of times, they still play video games and all that, but he’s really getting involved,” Lin said. “If there’s nobody who can work that day, he’ll jump right in and help. I feel like he’s really helping and I’m excited to see how the business grows. I feel like we’ve built this together and it means a lot for our family.”

The biggest takeaway from working in the food business over the last three years, Pham said, is finding different ways to gain the support of new customers.

“I feel like what I’ve learned is that there’s a lot of people who will support you. Even if there’s nobody to support you, the people who buy your products will likely support your product if you’re energetic and happy,” he said. “They’ll feel better about approaching you and they’ll try to buy your products.”

Kawaii Donut House operates under the same hours as the Olympia-based location of Red Lantern Asian Fusion. They’re open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Fridays, from noon to 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.