At his humble stall in Kingswood Richly Plaza in Tin Shui Wai, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, Tam Tat-ming carries a ring of pliable sugar in his gloved hands. He deftly stretches the ring until it is large enough to make an infinity symbol, which he folds into a new ring before repeating the process.
Within a matter of minutes, Tam has stretched the sugar 13 times, and what was once a sticky mass is now fine, delicate strands that are fluffy and white as cotton wool.
Some might say the strands resemble a beard – after all, the 53-year-old confectioner is making dragon’s beard candy, a nostalgic delicacy once sold in the streets of Hong Kong.
Today, dragon’s beard candy is a rarity in the city, and perhaps even more scarce is ding ding tong (also called deuk deuk tong), a maltose confection often flavoured with ginger.
Tam is one of the few people still making these two traditional treats in Hong Kong, having taken up confectionery making 25 years ago.
