Dragon’s Beard Candy Is a Chinese and Lunar New Year Tradition | Eater

"For nearly three decades a longtime weekend stall in Pacific Mall drew long lines of locals and out-of-towners for hand-pulled dragon’s beard candy, a white, fluffy sugar treat whose stretched strands are wrapped around a crunchy core of peanuts, coconut, and sesame. The vendor’s theatrical technique—stretching ropes of sugar like an accordion, slapping them onto rice flour to separate the strands, and sending flour dust into the air—was as much a draw as the candy itself; the finished pieces offer shifting textures as some strands dissolve while others shatter into feuilletine-like flakes before becoming a chewy, crunchy nougat. At peak weekends he produced hundreds of pieces but refused to rush the work, preferring to keep production small and personal rather than franchise or expand; as a result the stall’s future is uncertain, with the maker moving toward private events and occasional online sales as he contemplates retirement." - Tiffany Leigh