28 July 2013

Dragon Beard Candy ~ Chinese - Chinatown Friday Night Markets

In this week's episode we learn how to shave a dragon and Brianna gets a letter from a secret admirer.

There be dragons in Chinatown. In the name of restaurants, hidden in small sculptures on the rooftops and guarding the entrances to Dixon Street. Walking through the night markets, we didn't expect to find them in candy.



After a feed in the city with friends, we head down to Chinatown's Friday night market, an underrated little gem. It's authentically squishy with plenty of street food and cheap junk.



In the middle section is the Dragon Beard Candy stall. What is Dragon Beard Candy? We're glad you asked.



Basically it's a kind of a chewy nugget of nougat-like filling wrapped in finely spun sugar.



There's a whole production line going on, it's a hoot to watch. Starting from a small ball, the candy masters twist and pull until they make fine strands.



How do they get those threads so fine? They also manage to fill it with a mix of peanuts and sesame and wrap it all together into one neat parcel.



The finished product. The first time we tried it we thought it was magic, though on a second visit it seemed a bit plain. We'll have to try it again. Either way, the fine threads of sugar give it a texture that makes it a fun to eat. Around $5 for two pieces.



And that's why the Chinese call it dragon beard candy. In Australia we call it Dave beard candy.



The Dragon Beard Candy stall is in Sydney's wonderful Friday Night Markets, which runs from around 3.30pm - 10pm-ish. It's in the Dixon Street Mall between Goulburn and Hay Streets.

Tune in next week when Brianna discovers she has an evil twin who is out for revenge!

4 comments:

  1. My friend's family owns that Dragon Beard Candy store in Friday Night Markets.

    I've eaten this once in HK . I'm so glad I can find this fresh here !

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you can hold off eating them...pop them in the fridge when you get home. They're delicious cold!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment joy - please keep your musings happy - if you want to complain about a restaurant please do it on a restaurant review site (or your own blog) - we're all about celebrating cultural diversity and the great eats that come along with it :-)

Our ethics: We pay for all our own meals and travel (though sometimes Mum shouts us).