A must try!!! The first time I ever saw this candy being made was at the street food market in Seoul. The technique is quite entertaining, and the candy is unique and delicious. Impossibly thin threads of sugar are spun around a crumbly filling of crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, and coconut. It’s hard to describe, so you need to just try it for yourself! The end result looks like a cocoon. They currently have a pop up at the Ferry Building on Farmers Market Saturdays, through the end of March. I hope they extended the special run. Flavors offered today were original, matcha, strawberry, and coffee. You can’t go wrong with any of them!

Dragon Papa turns candy-making into a show You can to watching this in the window of the shop: all made by hand: dragon’s beard candy, ginger candy and warm mochi coated in seeds. Over 10 minutes, the chef stretch, twist and double a thick ring of malt syrup until it forms hundreds of thousands of silky white strands. Then they gingerly wrap hanks of the floss, which resembles cotton candy but lacks its jarring sweetness, around a mix of toasted peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut. Delicious!

This was a unique experience that you will not find commonly, as it is one of the only places in the U.S. to sell the interesting dish called dragons beard. It is hand pulled into long thin strands and ends up in a consistency similar to cotton candy. It is then wrapped around a nutty mixtures to create a delicious snack.

First introduction to this type of candy, and I think it’s quite delicious. $11 for 8 pieces. Not too sweet, nice peanut filling. From what I understand it’s rare to find anyone making this, so definitely give it a try.

Not only is the candy delicious but the people (teens) working there were very knowledgeable and friendly. They take credit cards and package their desserts up nicely if you want to take them as a present.I really did not plan on going into a candy shop in Chinatown and walk out with 2 little candy packages for 20 bucks, but Id do it again if I lived in so for sure!

In Vietnam, we called this keo chi. In Chinatown, these are dragon beard candies. The candies were made from thick cubes of sugar, got melted, pulled in strings, then folded over, pulled again for 100 times. The total strings are 1600/each. Then strings are filled with crunchy peanuts. Very delicious. The candy melted in my mouth mix with the crunchy of peanuts. It was also fun seeing they made the candies in front of my eyes too.

I bought from them at the ferry building, where they told me that they normally are in China Town, so Im writing my review for their main location. The shop is family owned and the son of the owner seemed to really love the practice and had pride in his family and their business. He was talkative in a non-pushy way that most small businesses tend to be, very genuine in his care, which made the exchange suprisingly very enjoyable. The dragon beard candy was a first for me, tasted amazing, and watching them make it was fascinating. I truly wish them the best and hope to buy from them again.

Rarely review anything at all, but this place is too special. This isn’t just a candy, in addition to being delicious, it’s a craft and beautiful to watch being made—one of the top things to eat in SF!!

It was an experince to see how the dragon beard candy was made in front if my own eyes. The candy itself tasted mostly like rice flour. Very friendly staff.

Incredible light feeling of the dragons beard. The original has an amazingly complex nutty flavor and the texture is just sublime. I wish they had a brick and mortar. Maybe they will again and Ill be waiting.

Unusual amazing little candies! We loved the original flavor ones but didn’t like thecoffee flavor as much. It was cool watching them make it as well. See photos.

They are now temporarily closed. I bought their delicious confections on my last visit. They have a unique taste and would make a good gift for someone with a sweet tooth.

Unique dragon beard candies

The best Dragon Beard Candy and also Sesame Mochi we have ever tasted. Ever.

Curious and great taste I love the dragon beard candy so exotic

Love the Dragon beard candy from here. Its a bit pricey but this place does flavours like coffee and strawberry which I dont get back home in Toronto.

Delicious but expensive ($12 for 6 pieces as of Dec. 2029).

Delicious I would wait in line for this !

Its one of the few places that sell dragon beard candy. Its around $10 for 6 pieces, which is on the pricier end in my opinion, but its understandable considering SF rent. Their matcha and original flavors are my favorite. I think the dragon beard part of it could be softer. Compared to the ones Ive tried in china, the ones here feel kinda stiff.

Dragon Beard candy!!!

Lovely to watch how it is made. Not too sweet and a very nice edible souvenir you can give away to friends and family or for your own consumption. Cash only.

This place is amazing. They make an ancient Chinese dessert called Dragons Beard. Its sorta like a pocket of thick cotton candy strands with nutty filling in the middle. I cant even describe it. Anyway this is one of only a handful of places in America that make it. You can watch them spin it by hand in the window. Its super good, but very different from... everything. Try it.

Makers of Dragons Beard Candy. They are one of the few places you can find this delicacy. You can watch them make it and buy some to try for yourself.Highly recommended. Owners work the front lines and are happy to see you. Bring some cash in case their debit isnt working.

Although the idea of handmade candy is nice, this particular item is not my cup of tea. Its not really sweet, has sesame and peanuts inside, and at $11 a box, you should enjoy them (I didnt). The service is friendly, but its really more of a gamble to buy them since there arent samples to try it.

A whole in the wall that serves up traditional Chinese dessert. People here are friendly and they make the Dragon Beard fresh. If youre allergic to nuts, this place IS NOT for you.

Tried my first dragons beard here, and was not disappointed. Highly recommend for everyone. They take credit cards too, and the proprietor was super helpful on giving us tips of how to eat and telling us more about the dessert. Try it!

Surreal to see San Francisco with empty streets.

Very pretty and very tasty dragon beard candies. I like the contrast between the fluffy outside (basically how cotton candy should taste) and the nuts on the inside. They make the candy onsite, and it looks pretty difficult and slow, which is probably why its a bit pricy.

Lovely tiny shop selling handmade candy, watch the magic in the window and do buy a container to taste! Delicious filling of sesame and peanut, crumbled together. Package of eight pieces sells for $9. Ginger candy sells for $3 (small)/$4 (large).

LOVE the Dragon Beard candies here, I get them every time Im back in SF and ask others to bring me them when they make a trip.

$9 for a small box of Dragon candy may seem outrageous, but these candies are good & I cant find it anywhere else nearby, so I splurged on 2 boxes & didnt regret it. One downside is the store is small & the wait could take a while because the workers are quite chatty at times. Also, at times, the guy in the window cant make this stuff fast enough to accommodate all the demand. Not sure how long the novelty will last, but Im enjoying it a lot right now.

Love, Loveeee this place and love the candy. The father and son business deserves all the support. They also are very nice and talented people. I really appreciate the handmade non toxic chemical candy. Highly recommended, I go to their shop every weekend.

This pulled combo candy is so tasty and fun! Just the right combo of savory nut and sweet. Plus, Derek and his sisters are so nice.

Expensive and no taste, the worst asian sweet Ive ever tasted. Also the service was kind of rude.

Delicious!

This candy is like nothing Ive ever eaten. Its like cotton candy wrapped over peanuts. I like to cut the roll in half and let it melt in my mouth before chewing it up. Not for those with dentures...consider yourself warned.

Very unusual taste feels like you eat cats hair

A cute hole-in-the-wall candy place. I love the dragons beard candy and its really neat to see him make it.

This is such a cute cafe that uses sweet potato~~~ I love it and the atmosphere..definitely recommend it to come with friends or family.

A little expensive average $10 a pop but well worth it as a treat once in awhile. I cant find these any other place but here haha. Worth a shot if you like flaky chewy candy that isnt too overpoweringly sweet.

I bought the Dragon Beard candy. It was very neat to watch the old man stretching the pastry to make this. Theres a lot of labor involved. Approximately $9 for 8 pieces

Nice people. Get to watch as they make the boxes. Yummy.

You either like it or hated it. It’s not sweet at all and there’s peanut and sesame filling, traditional candy.

Delicate chewy deliciousness.Get a box of the original whiskers & a box of mochi. Heavenly.Say hello to Derek (Kean), he will chat up a storm.

Would go again. Kinda commercialized but hey its 2018 what is surprising any more? Honestly it seems like we are living in a repetitive Scooby-Doo episode and we all know its the creepy old man in the big white house who denies everything but we play along like oh this is normal and we dont want to think too hard because once we rip the mask off its not really over because what happens to the bad guys in Scooby-Doo they dont serve real time and if they are doing a serious stint well the gang has just begun.

Super friendly excellent experience with Derek and his sister was up front making the dragon 🐉 beard candy 🍬. Great little spot to visit while in China Town.

Wonderful custard pie and honey dripping bow

A great hidden treat ... super friendly and they make the candy right there in front of you.

The sesame mochi is amazing and they make it fresh for you so its still warm when you get it

Great candy. Very unique. Worth the stop.

Not cheap but they give you good amount of goodies! By far this place is the best!! Id better than HK!! 😍😍

BEST dragon beard candy Ive had! A must visit if you are coming to the Chinatown area!

My favorite place for purple sweet potato desserts in San Francisco!!!! Im half Filipino so we call purple sweet potato UBE. This is the first place Ive tried ( and Ive tried a bunch) that makes ube desserts true to the taste of the actual potato which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and have actually never found outside of my own baking and cooking. Most ube desserts taste like ube powder or flavoring which is still okay because I love all things ube but is just not the same as the actual potato so for first time I can say this place somehow does it different and perfect. Also one of the great things about coming here is the amazing presentation but whats even better is it actually tastes better then it looks !!!

Nice place for shopping 😎👍

Such a unique find! Definite must try in Chinatown.

Excellent dragon beard handcraft candy very friendly service

Unique handmade sweet treat!

Love the dragon beard candy! Best Ive ever found!

Shoebox​ sized shop with a meticulous​ candy maker out front doing demo. Here they specializes dragon beard candy, mochi and hard ginger brittle nuggets. It used to be 8pcs/$9 now its $10. At least you know its as fresh as it gets being made on site. Like most asian owned businesses​ in chinatown, its cash only.

Great time! Very friendly people making dragon beard candy and mochi.

Awesome candy. A little pricy but worth the unique candy.

Candy made on site. Very helpful service.

Better than any you can find in Hong Kong

The best Chinese candy I ever have

My childhood favorite. Bought 4 boxes and finished in 3 days lol

Great fun. 🐉 Dragon Beard candy.

Tasty candy made in front of you but a bit expensive at $1.50 or more a piece. Try it you may like it.

Great food, fast service

Great authentic Chinese sweets.

Their signature candy is unique and delicious

Kind of rude serviceFood was just okNot coming back

Chinatown in the San Francisco Dragon Papa Gift Shop, Chinese gift articles in plenty

Delicious and cool to watch.

The candy was awesome.

Its pretty good

Great candy

Parking limited.Super expensive

Dragon sugar and glutinous rice bran are very delicious! ! ! The dragon sugar is ready-made. If you want to glutinous rice, you have to wait a little bit because you have to do it. The store is a bit crowded but it doesnt matter.

Nice dessert in Chinatown! To try

We accidentally noticed the window of this shop where these delicious traditional sweets are prepared. Intrigued by the preparation, which a girl was doing live, we decided to try them. DELICIOUS !!!! A must try !! In addition, the owner is a very kind person who will explain everything you need to know.

Kinesis street