Yao's Dragon Beard Candy

I was already on a high from my lucky find of Osmanthus candy in Chinatown, putting an end to a 5 year long search.  My luck continued that day as I was wandering around aimlessly.  I stumbled upon a little cart on the corner of Chrystie and Grand Street, right by the B/D subway entrance, called Yao's Dragon Beard Candy.  It's not a well-known Chinese dessert.  In fact, the first and last time I had it was in the Vancouver Chinatown over 10 years ago!

There was a man making candy inside the cart as I approached, and I noticed a write up by the Village Voice posted on their window.  They wrote a good review of it here.

Dragon's Beard candy is sort of like the equivalent of Chinese cotton candy.  It's made from spun sugar, and when you take a bite, it's like biting into a puff of powdered sugar.  The delicate sugar strands will be left hanging from your mouth, giving it the appearance of a Dragon's beard.  Yao's candy has peanuts and coconut inside.  Each container comes with 6 candies for $3.  You can also get 2 containers (12 pieces) for $5.

Each container comes with 6 candies for $3 (or 2 containers for $5)

See the fine sugar strands?

Here's a close up pic

When I bit into Yao's Dragon Beard candy, it was a little chewy and harder than I remembered when I had it in Vancouver years ago.  I wonder how fresh they are, as the shelf life of these candies is very short (the sugar starts to harden and/or moisture gets in).  It's such an usual sweet though, and I haven't seen it anywhere else in Chinatown.  Have you spotted them elsewhere?

It's worth checking out, especially since it's still a novelty in NYC!

Piggy KL