yummy. that's all i could think when i went to the chinese new year festival yesterday. there was food everywhere! i only went there for a few reasons though (to buy lotsa cheap things i don't need)... but my main reason was to get this awesome candy called longxutang, or dragon beard candy.

it's really neat. it looks like a cotton ball, but softer. and instead of cotton, it's made of really fine strands of sugar rolled around a crushed nut filling. the candy maker makes it right in front of you, and when he's pulling the sugar strands, you can see where they came up with the name dragon beard. this used to be made only for the emperor of china way back in the day for his big parties and banquets. nowadays, it's made during the chinese new year festival and other big occasions.

the line ups for this candy are always so long, and it looks like the poor candy maker makes it all day (the grounds open at 11am and go til midnight!). plus it looks really laborious. to make a little box of 6 candies takes a bit less than 8 minutes, and people buy at least 2 boxes at a time. so even if you only have 2 people in front of you in line, ordering only 2 boxes each, you'll be waiting about 30 minutes til it's your turn. hehehe... i ordered 6 boxes for me and my friends. see, the key is to hit the dragon beard candy first, and take turns standing in line with your friends. those who aren't lining up just walk around the grounds to see what they wanna see. by the time the first few are done, they can line up while the second bunch can go and hit the festivities. yes, that's how long the line takes but it's worth it.