Sweet memories

For Wong Hon-keung, founder of confectioners Bamboo Garden, this sweet, fluffy treat brings back fond memories of his father, a dragon’s beard candy master, and a youth spent making and selling the sweet outside school gates. “In those days, mastering this craft was a reliable source of income,” he recalls. But it was never easy work: crafting the dragon’s beard threads is difficult and highly temperature-sensitive. On hot and humid days, they turn damp and mushy. When it’s too dry, the sugar is brittle and prone to snapping.

Wong’s father taught him to pull sugar at a young age. But it never seemed like a real career, until he was invited to showcase the skill at Hong Kong International Airport in 2000. “We demonstrated how to make dragon’s beard candy at the airport, and it attracted a lot of tourists,” Wong says. “However, the candy had a very short shelf life and would harden over time, which gave it an unpleasant texture.”

It motivated Wong to perfect his recipe. After studying his father’s books and conducting countless experiments, Wong opened Bamboo Garden in 2002 – selling his own dragon’s beard candy, hand-made and preservative-free, but with real staying power. Wong modernised the recipe, changing it up to make it less tooth-sticking, and also introducing a range of new fillings – from black sesame to chocolate, jasmine tea and even a touch of popping candy.