dragonbeardcandytoronto

DRAGON'S BEARD CANDY

TORONTO

What is Dragon's Beard Candy?

• It's an ancient Chinese confection made from sugar and glucose syrup, stretched into thousands of fine threads resembling a beard or silk.
• The threads are wrapped around a filling of roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, and shredded coconut.
• The texture is unique — icy-crispy when refrigerated, and it melts in your mouth with a nutty crunch.

🎭 The Theatre of Candy-Making

• Jimmy Poon, the artisan featured, performs this candy-making live at Pacific Mall in Markham, near the ground floor center escalators.
• He learned the craft from his uncle in Hong Kong and turned to it after losing his job as an auto mechanic.
• The process involves kneading, stretching, and multiplying the sugar strands — up to 10,000 threads!

🐉 A Regal History

• Originally called "cat beard candy", the name was changed to "dragon's beard" to honor its imperial connections.
• It was once reserved for emperors, adding to its mystique and cultural value.

💡 Fun Facts

• He recommends refrigerating it for a week or more to enhance the texture.
• Despite the physical toll, he continues because no one else in Toronto has taken up the craft.

Theatre of Sugar
At Pacific Mall, one artisan prepares an ancient Chinese candy
JENNIFER BAIN – FOOD EDITOR

It looks like a furry, doll's house pillow — or maybe a cocoon. Bite into it tentatively and dry, white shards of sugar will hang from your lips and chin and maybe induce a coughing fit, while chopped peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds spill everywhere. Instead, pop the whole plump morsel bravely in your mouth for a textural treat. Dragon's beard — if it has been refrigerated until it is "icy-crispy" — is a memorable Chinese candy.

Jimmy Poon claims to be the only artisan making this candy in Greater Toronto. He spins his sugary magic every weekend at a mobile cart near the ground floor centre escalators at Pacific Mall.

"This is old-fashioned Asian candy," boasts Poon. "It's also part of the theatre here because people watch me." Just don't ask whether this treat is a form of that gaudy midway temptation known as cotton candy. "I don't like when people call this cotton candy. It's totally different," Poon scoffs.

Taped to his yellow cart is a sign explaining that skilled artisans prepared this "rare and regal" candy for emperors centuries ago. What the sign doesn't say is that the original name was "cat beard candy," because of the way the threads can stick to your face. But, says Poon, once the king embraced the candy, the name had to be made more respectful. "I'm not sure if it's a real story or not," he concludes with a shrug.

Poon mixes glucose syrup with sugar and microwaves it for an hour until it's a pliable, yellow disc. Then he kneads and stretches the disc until it has a large hole like a bagel. He wraps the ever-lengthening tangle around his hands, dipping the mixture constantly in corn flour to prevent sticking. The strands rapidly multiply. "There, that's double — 80. This is 220, now 640. Okay, so 1,400. That's 2,800. Fifty-five hundred now. So actually it's around 10,000." I can't keep up with Poon's math, but in minutes he transforms the yellow orb into a tangle of white, beard-like threads. Or, as he puts it: "See? Now this looks like silk. You know — from little worms."

Poon chops the threads into shorter lengths and lays small portions on a baking sheet. His assistant quickly wraps a mix of finely chopped, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds and shredded coconut into each "beard" and deftly folds the package into a pillow/cocoon. These candies are then nestled into clear plastic tubs to be sold.

Poon is proud of his work, but quick to point out his hardships. "You have to use all the muscles for the body and the fingers so when I get home I'm very tired," he laments. "Maybe I'm too old. Maybe I need to retire."

Poon learned candy-making from his uncle in Hong Kong. It was a skill he fell back on when he lost his job here as an auto mechanic. He debuted at the Toronto International Dragon Boat Race 10 years ago, and became a fixture at the CNE's Lunar New Year Festival (He's not doing either event now.)

"I need to stand for the whole day and stretch for the whole day," says Poon pensively. "That's why I work in Toronto 10 years already but nobody comes to make competition." He advises me to stick my candy in the fridge for "one week or one month" because it's better chilled. Too late. My 10 pack lasted less than 24 hours. But I did share.

CANDY CONTACTS

• Pacific Mall is at 4300 Steeles Ave. E. (at Kennedy Rd.) in Markham. Jimmy Poon makes dragon's beard candy on weekends from a yellow cart near the ground floor centre escalators. Details: pacificmalltoronto.com
• Bamboo Garden in Hong Kong sells dragon's beard candy from bamboogarden.com.hk
• Yuzumura.com sells Bamboo Garden dragon's beard candy from Hong Kong. It has an online video and FAQs.

Jennifer Bain's Saucy Lady column appears most Wednesdays

— Jimmy Poon-

CANDY FACTS

History has it that this candy was once called "cat whiskers candy" (in direct translation from Cantonese). This candy was sold on the streets of China and everyday people were able to buy this candy and enjoy it. But since the Chinese Emperor had a taste of this delicious candy. it was renamed Dragon's Beard Candy. Why? Well, back in the days

dragons symbolized the Emperor of China because of the strength and power these creatures portrayed. So for those who have had our candy will know that eating our Dragon's Beard Candy will leave your lips clinging onto strands of sugar just like a beard. So when the Emperor took a bite of the candy, he had some strands on his lips (and if you don't already know, calling the Emperor a cat is insulting and let's just say you'd be in BIG trouble if you told him he had cat whiskers). Once the Emperor's men saw him with the white strands on his lips, they quickly thought of a new name and ever since then it's been called Dragon's Beard Candy.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

YOU CAN KEEP YOUR DRAGON'S BEARD CANDY IN THE FRIDGE & IT'LL TASTE EVEN BETTER!

By keeping the candy in the fridge it will make the fine strands of sugar crisp and when you pop it in your mouth it's like an explosion of crispy, chewy, nutty coolness in your mouth. So if you can wait, take it home, and keep it in the fridge and taste the difference between the chewy fresh made ones and the crispy ones out of the fridge.

WANT TO TAKE THE CANDY FAR...

Ask us to seal the pack for you. The candy is very delicate and sensitive to heat and humidity, the sealed pack will only prevent humidity from entering so it is recommended you still keep the candy in the fridge even for a couple of hours before traveling.