Blowing sugar
In the tourist hutong you can find skilled street vendors of edible goods. The reality is you won’t find much of this food anywhere else in the city. This picture is of figurines. The sugar used is unrefined. It has the consistency of play-doh. The vendor stretches it by hand , bites a tiny chunk out than blows the blob into shape.
The result is visually impressive and fun to eat although not that good nor sanitary. In the Flickr album you’ll find a picture of a slug; that’s the dragon we ordered for me at the cost of 10 CNY.