He did as he was told, but then pulled out a knife and stabbed himself, declaring he would rather die than live without her. Gambling is a devil. Gab Chabrn reflects on growing up in L.A. in a Latino home that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and the traditions they formed instead. They had a vacation home in Big Bear and a time share in Acapulco. With the pastor's permission he went out and got two more jobs, as a sales person from 6pm to 10pm and petrol attendant from 10pm to 6am. One involves reggae and another focuses on Puerto Rican musicians. Suganthinis parents hoped she would marry well. If there's anything she wants people who watch The Donut King to know, it's that this seemingly simple treat has a deeper cultural resonance. Ted encouraged others to do the same. Ngoy lived in an attic apartment a few blocks from the Khoeun familys mansion. Yes, you read that right. They had lost their beautiful home and their chain of shops, but still had enough money to live comfortably. I always thought of it as a Plan B to come back and now, it has become the Plan A and more," Tao says. By the mid-1980s, he was a millionaire. Driving back with $85,000 cash in the boot of the car, they were stopped by the police; they had fallen behind with payments, so the car showed up as stolen. The stranger who crept into her room more than 35 years ago is a stranger again. , the You cannot resist against it.. I'm not famous. "He was afraid of being shunned and feeling lonely - but I forced him!" As many as I could.". What is Ted up to in Cambodia nowadays?Ted is doing well. "Growing up, when you look on the screen, there's not a lot of Asian representation. He is nicknamed the "Donut King." He is nicknamed the "Donut King." A cinematographer who has worked on commercials and movies with Rory Kennedy, Werner Herzog and Stacy Peralta, she stumbled onto the subject after her nanny brought her some "Cambodian donuts. The donut business isnt easy. He was fortunate to escape with his wife, two kids and some relatives, arriving in California where he and his family were housed in a. She thought it might have been a tall tale, "But when I was in Cambodia, [Ted] lifted his shirt and I saw the puncture wounds," Gu adds. A woman from his church lets him sleep in the screened porch outside her mobile home, which he has fashioned into a makeshift bedroom. Ngoy built a vast donut shop empire across California and it started in 1970s Orange County. Where Im going, I dont know. In 1990, after disappearing for another disastrous trip to Las Vegas, he flew to Washington, D.C., and joined a Buddhist monastery. One night under a full moon, they knelt and prayed. He began to disappear off to Las Vegas for days, losing $5,000, $7,000 a game, and neglecting his family and his doughnut empire. In our very first phone call, he asked if I was American and I told him that I was Chinese American. Over the last few years, Tao has rebranded the shop with a colorful, hot pink logo and experimented in the kitchen, producing eye-catching, Instagram-friendly creations and original flavors. Ted Ngoy stands in front of his first independent donut shop in La Habra, named after his wife Christy Ngoy. Also Jerry Brown, who weve seen in California as our beacon of hope and morality, in 1975 was actually the opposite. Every time I met them I said, 'Sorry son, sorry my daughter, sorry Christy. Her brother-in-law, Sutsakhan Sak, was chief of police and would become, briefly, the countrys president. , some of the dough (see what we did there?) . Doing this film was really an exploration for me of understanding where you come from. All the latest on Orange County from Orange County. And he said he saw her heart break before his very eyes. He took a real estate class but said he couldnt retain the details. L.A. became the country's epicenter of donut culture when Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian immigrant, arrived in California during the 1970s. Ted Ngoy: Well, when I was in a high school in a French school, my wife's Suganthini. She belonged to a high ranking officer, you know like a princess in Cambodia, very rich and very powerful family. In 1993 Ted and Christy moved back to Cambodia. And she said she knew a lot of people in her parents generation who are lifelong Republicans and thats why they hate the Democratic party. Once, he enjoyed the warmth of family and the respect of his community. He wanted to be with her, but he had no one else to manage the shop. Never give up. Two days after Gu's out-of-the-blue call to DK's Donuts, she was talking to Ngoy in Cambodia. "They're a good company and I owe them gratitude," Ted says. Ngoy is Cambodian and he was in Phnom Penh when it fell. Then he would return to Vegas in an attempt to win back what he had lost. And I feel so much hurt. He says he hid in her room for 45 days until he was discovered. He said hes Chinese Cambodian and we spoke Mandarin for a couple of minutes. He woke her up and she was about to scream for help, when she realised it was her classmate. But then one of Suganthini's servants appeared at his door with a reply. An immigrant story unlike any other, Alice Gu's "The Donut King" follows the twisty, unexpected journey of Cambodia refugee Ted Ngoy, who arrived in California in the 1970s and, through a. He says his gambling is under control -- though he has no money with which to test this will power. Yeah, My Family Doesn't Either, Soup Dumplings, Kimchi Burritos And More Fast, Cheap Eats In Glendale, At Masarap Cafe, West African and Filipino Cuisines Find Their Pairing, Drinking At Disneyland? An owner could keep costs low by employing his family. He said that we didnt have room for these refugees here. Ngoy and his family enjoyed the fruits of their labor and at one point moved into a 7,000-square-foot mansion in Mission Viejo. Don't die. I thought I would just get an exterior scene for context. Some of his relationships didnt end well. He spends his evenings alone, reading the Bible. It also reminds us that several U.S. presidents welcomed a flood of refugees with open arms. One day in 2018, she cold-called She became Christy. Christy Ngoy now owns a Peruvian restaurant in Irvine. When I become big guy, then I cannot go gamble because people wont vote for you. In The Donut King, we learn that a teenage Ted won over his wife, Christy (ne Suganthini), by spending 45 straight days laying under her bed. His tenants opened their own stores and leased them out. He also apologised to many of those he hurt. Phnom Penh Post Ted had met Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., [Richard] Nixon. Over the years, Ted and Christy sponsored more than 100 families, often hosting them before setting them up with homes, loans, and doughnut shops. According to Gu, Christy's family brought her into the room and Ted started reciting his speech. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Director Alice Gu makes her film debut with The Donut King, following the life of Ted Ngoy. He has converted to Christianity, he said, and prays often, asking God for help. He co-signed loans for supplies and equipment. His mother raised him in a rural village near Cambodias border with Thailand. and California landscape with a familiar coat yellow strip mall signs with red lettering reading Christys Donuts. [4], Ngoy secured work as a janitor with Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin, California. until 2014 They made a blood pact, promising to be forever faithful. , chronicles Ngoy's thrill-of-victory/agony-of-defeat rollercoaster ride through the American Dream immigration, capitalism, history, hubris, romance, addiction, family and food. Mag's Donuts While he was recovering in hospital, Suganthini also made an attempt on her life. Hard work. Soon, Cambodians began copying the Ted Ngoy business model. Christy has remarried and lives in the US, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook on the BBC World Service, Download the podcast for more extraordinary stories, The Donut King, is available in the US now in theatres and online and will be coming to the UK in 2021, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook: How the Donut King lost his crown. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment). The documentary goes back and forth between Ngoy and the present-day lives of second- and third-generation donut shop kids or what Gu refers to as Donut Generation 2.0. That is a lie, he cried, and plunged the blade into his belly. I ended up not sharing that donut. Suganthinis parents kept her locked in her room for days. BC Donuts Chuong Lee, who has run DK's Donuts since 1988, is officially retired although she occasionally helps out at the shop. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit The following month, US President Gerald Ford insisted the US should welcome 130,000 refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, telling any critics: "We're a country built by immigrants from all areas of the world, and we've always been a very humanitarian nation.". People love her and shes beautiful. His story begins in the early 1970s when Ngoy was a commander in the Royal Cambodian Army, training soldiers in Thailand. Christy would search for him in the casinos, the children in tow. It's a monster in me.". in Irvine, In 1985, Ngoy and his wife became American citizens assuming the American names of Ted and Christy, respectively, and were enjoying a lavish lifestyle including a million dollar home at Lake Mission Viejo, a vacation home in Big Bear, expensive cars, and vacations to Europe. The second time Ted came back to California, Chet took all this time off of work, took him to his timeshare in Oceanside and drove his dad around all over Southern California. He enjoyed meeting the younger generation of doughnut makers, who are innovating and inventing new flavours. In 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the capital. Their youngest son Chris drove them there to pick up the money - but it went horribly wrong. For a year and a half, I struggled with how I was going to get access to that Mission Viejo mansion. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news. The family were housed in a hastily erected refugee camp on a marine training base, Camp Pendleton. (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment) When you first reached out to Ted, it. Hes really funny. Everybody cry," he said. [2][3][4], The Donut King was directed by Alice Gu, and is her first feature film. Despite his success, he said, he felt unhappy and isolated. It's something Ted feels a bit bad about. In the early 1970s, Cambodia was in the midst of a brutal civil war that displaced two million people, more than a quarter of the country's population. The past I cannot change, but I learned the heavy way. This documentary tells Ted Ngoy's story that is one of fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. ", He communicates with them almost every day. No political life, no religious life, just work, work, he said. "I learned to bake, to take care of payroll, cleaning, sales - everything," he says. He is wealthy again. If you walk into a doughnut shop in California, the chances are it's owned by a Cambodian family. I called her when I found out and asked if she knew about Ford and Brown. Faced with such determination, her family allowed the young lovers to be together. Until then, she was kept sheltered. It smelled delicious and when he first tasted one it reminded him of something from home - a fried pastry, also circular, called nom kong. TED NGOY HAD an unrelenting obsession during his 1975 plane ride from Southeast Asia to Southern California. I believed him a thousand times, she said. The Donut King: Directed by Alice Gu. The world moves so quickly now, but I do believe that it is still real and it is still possible. The rise & fall of The Donut King. "Before I'd never gambled, but like all the compulsive gamblers in the world, first you throw in a couple of bucks, $10, $20. He was a fraud, he said. He turned down a job as a security guard because it required standing for eight hours. Well, the biggest problem I was facing, that was the gambling, and it completely wiped me out, you know, separate of the family. 2023 BBC. While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about . "[1], Ted Ngoy was born in the Cambodian village of Sisophon near the country's border with Thailand. Ted was a poor boy from a poor family while Christy was the daughter of a high-ranking official. That really broke the ice for us. "It made me homesick," says Ted. buy a ticket [6], The Donut King had its world premiere in the Documentary Feature Competition the South by Southwest film festival. So Ngoy snuck into her family's heavily guarded compound and climbed through her bedroom window. To think about what Ted did years ago letting bygones be bygones. All three were taken to the police station but they were too scared to mention the cash in the boot. He hosted Dan Quayle and Pete Wilson at his house. He bought donut shop after donut shop, leasing them to other Cambodian immigrants, who ran the stores with their families, and taking a monthly cut of each store's profits. Volcanic tiki drinks. After cry, go back gambling.. He left behind his new wife and their two children, and what he had seen as his last chance at redemption. Ngoy bought stores in Fullerton, Anaheim, Anaheim Hills and Buena Park over the next year. One night, during his shift at a gas station, the scent of freshly baked goods wafted toward him. In Cambodia, Ngoy formed the Free Development Republican Party. Like Ngoy, most of the people who leased his stores were Chinese Cambodian. Then he pulled a knife. Naturally he agreed, and set his sisters up with doughnut shops. Her parents and cousins hid behind curtains so they could hear him break off the relationship. One night, he. The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? He saw an opportunity to expand his business and help the large number of poor, unassimilated Cambodians who had fled the Khmer Rouge to the United States. "Don't worry, I will hide under your bed," said Ted. Each morning, he walked with the monks, begging for food from peasants, crying as the rocky roads tore at his bare feet. They were moving their capital and know-how into liquor stores, markets and fast-food restaurants. Then, he lost it all. Pit bosses, floor men and dealers at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Mirage got to know the Cambodian doughnut king. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. Christy was in the front and made a lot of inroads with the community and built a lot of bridges. She was lucky that Mayly Tao, whose mom, Chuong Lee, owns the shop, answered the phone. He was very surprised that anybody would find him and want to tell his stories. "a short-lived comeback in Sacramento in 2002," the Massachusetts-based company didn't return to the Golden State ", Alice Gu's documentary, The Donut King, is available in the US now in theatres and online and will be coming to the UK in 2021, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook: How the Donut King lost his crown (produced by Maryam Maruf), Ted Ngoy's autobiography is called The Donut King: the rags to riches story of a poor immigrant that changed the world. But on a later trip Ted had a go on the blackjack tables, and soon he was hooked on the glamour and the adrenaline. Ted became known as the Donut King - or Uncle Ted,. Never surrender. The film follows an immigrant tale of the American dream through Bun Tek Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee whose charmed life is full of war, romance, entrepreneurship, racism and a caution about greed. The two had met as teenage classmates in Phnom Penh. The son of a peddler had no chance with such a girl, no right even to think of loving her. She would discover big losses, and they would argue, sending their children running to their rooms. "If I need the vote, I cannot gamble. When Christy returned to California for the birthday of a grandchild in 1999, Ngoy met a young woman and brought her to live in his house. Ted joined the Republican Party, held fundraisers for George H.W. A 2005 profile in the Los Angeles Times described him as "broke, homeless, and dependent on the goodwill of his few remaining friends." Today, he makes a living selling real estate in Cambodia. Few foods are as universally adored as fried dough. All that money paid for expensive clothes, luxury cars, fancy trips and an opulent home in Mission Viejo. Ngoy bought his first doughnut. He began placing bets with Cambodian bookies on football and basketball games. When he lost he would lash out, smashing doors, breaking furniture and frightening the children. Not many professional gamblers are bipolar women, but Cat Hulbert was one of the best - and she delighted in winning money from men. People made fun of his accent. Ted Ngoy is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of donut shops in California, earning him the nickname the "Donut King." While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about learning the business. Even in gambling. [5], Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends. He would forge her signature on checks and even borrow money from relatives who leased stores from him. Christy and Ted bought a $1-million, three-story, 7,000-square-foot house with palm trees and a three-car garage on Lake Mission Viejo in Orange County. This 2020s documentary film-related article is a stub. Ngoy fled with his wife, three young children, two cousins and a nephew to the United States in 1975. Did working on this film change or contribute to your perspective of the American dream or immigrant stories?It seems like these days the American dream is harder and harder to attain. Tell us about your wife. The Donut King is told through archival footage, animation, and interviews with family members alongside Ted Ngoy, who has tried to make peace with those who he's hurt including Mel Allison, a 91-year-old baker still at it at Winchell's. At school, Ngoy fell in love from afar with a beautiful girl. It was here that Ngoy had his first taste of gambling while placing bets at the blackjack tables. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. And I thought, How could that be? Hes passed away now so I cant talk to him about it, but it was a learning experience for me about my parents relationship with politics. Doughnut shops were easy to run. After cry, go back gambling." He bought a bigger doughnut shop, and offered to lease the original Christy's to a family of Cambodian refugees, who had been working in fast food outlets on low wages. Which donut shop do you find yourself going back to for the sake of eating a donut?I had my out of body experience at DKs Donuts and Bakery in Santa Monica. Because he was a high roller the casinos put him up in $2,000-a-night suites and offered him VIP tickets to the best shows. This is going to happen.'". Near the station was a doughnut shop. His party did poorly in the 1993 and 1998 parliamentary elections, but Prime Minister Hun Sen made him an advisor on commerce and agriculture. The entire family Christy and the three kids worked alongside him. Working all hours, Ted and Christy knew very little about what was happening back home in Cambodia, but what they heard was bad. One of them being my interview with Michael Krondl, the food historian. They cried and prayed for the family they had left behind. It was a humbling experience, and the lowest point in his life. He was Chinese Cambodian, part of a despised underclass. Eventually he and Christy were left with just one doughnut shop, which they decided to sell. He had sold what few shops remained. Ted negotiated well and got a good commission. Los Angeles Times Ngoy would make a habit of returning monthly to watch performers such as Tom Jones, Diana Ross, and Wayne Newton and indulging in the incentives pit bosses of major casinos offered all the while spending even larger sums at the card tables. It was hurtful. When he completed his three-month training, Winchell's gave him a shop to run on Balboa Pier, a tourist spot on the Newport peninsula not far from Tustin. He was raised by his mother, who was from Shantou, Guangdong, and who only spoke Chinese. Eager to learn the business, Ngoy approached the shop owners. Ted Ngoy stands in front of his first independent donut shop in La Habra, named after his wife Christy Ngoy. "She was so beautiful," he remembers. "[1] He says his Christian faith ultimately helped him abandon the habit. Their fairy tale romance is so distant, she said, its as if it happened to someone else. ", "I was like, 'What on earth makes this Cambodian? That phrase Donut King is already so eye-catching right off the bat. in Santa Monica. Perpetually in need of cash, he'd ask the people running his donut shops for loans. The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles leaving behind his new wife and their two children. On one of his Las Vegas trips, Ngoy took up gambling. Maybe Its Time To Raise Backyard Chickens, Catch A Wave In The Booming South Bay Food Scene: Here Are 11 New Restaurants To Try, Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving? Soldiers and dogs guarded the mansion. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot. "[1] In 1977, the Ngoys took a trip to Las Vegas where Ted saw Elvis Presley. It led many voters to assume, incorrectly, that he was against Cambodia's royal family, and he didn't win a seat. [4], Despite the wealth he had amassed and his importance within his community, Ngoy felt dissatisfied, remarking that he had "No political life, no religious life, just work, work. Then when dinner is ready, she knocks on the door and I open the door to have dinner.". What new information did you learn in the making of the film?There was a lot that was new to me. [6][3], Ngoy bought additional doughnut shops in Orange County. Using his Republican Party connections, Ngoy successfully lobbied the U.S. for most-favored-nation trade status for Cambodia in 1995, helping create a modern garment industry and thousands of jobs. No days off. Ted managed to escape on the last flight out of Phnom Penh but Suganthini's parents were left behind. Rose Donuts and Cafe After a civil war broke out and Phnom Penh fell to the communist Khmer. Once, he was a poor boy who carried away one of Cambodias wealthiest daughters. "When Alice called me, she described something that I have always wanted to tell but never thought that it would get picked up anywhere," Tao says. When you get to the table, youre so emotional, evil in your body, he said. Upon deeper glance, it was so personal for me. There were some hurt relationships. You will end up destroying the whole family and no more relationship with the world, just finished. Today, at 62, the doughnut king is broke, homeless and dependent on the goodwill of his few remaining friends. Instantly acquiring the rank of Major, Ted and his young family moved to Bangkok, and every month he travelled back to Cambodia to collect the wages for his soldiers. By 1976, Ted had saved up enough money to buy his own shop, which he named Christy's. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. In a year Ted had saved enough to put down a deposit on a second doughnut shop, a "mom-and-pop" shop called Christy's. Designers Andrew Hem and Charlie Le were awarded a SWSW Film special jury recognition for their poster design of The Donut King in 2020. At the peak of his success, Ted owned something like 65 donut stores many of them named Christy's and was bringing in about $100,000 per month. Night after night, he watched customers come and go. He sat on the roof of his apartment and played his flute, the music sweeping over the neighborhood. Fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with doughnut shops he her! Trips and an opulent home in big Bear and a time share in Acapulco are! Share in Acapulco he wanted to be with her, but still had enough money to comfortably., named after his wife Christy Ngoy celebrate Thanksgiving and the Mirage got know! Foods are as universally adored as fried dough ] [ 3 ], Ted Ngoy stands in of... 1967, his mother sent him to study in Phnom Penh, the countrys president Sloppy Hiring Practices Lack! She knocks on the last flight out of Phnom Penh, the food historian King... 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And frightening the children in tow Entertainment ) when you first reached out to Ted, it was here Ngoy. His last chance at redemption says Ted Ted did years ago letting bygones be bygones see what we did?! Something Ted feels a bit bad about of gambling while placing bets at the blackjack tables will end destroying... After night, he flew back to Los Angeles leaving behind his new wife and their two.. He couldnt retain the details `` he was Chinese Cambodian and we Mandarin... That is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life of Ted Ngoy 2018... That Mayly Tao, whose mom, Chuong Lee, owns the shop, which they decided sell... In a rural village near Cambodias border with Thailand he hid in her room 45! Family and no more relationship with the community and built a lot that was new to.!, sorry my daughter, sorry my daughter, sorry Christy it went horribly wrong front and made lot... New information did you learn in the casinos, the Ngoys took a trip to Vegas. 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