Catch These Itinerant Dragon’s Beard Candy Masters Before They Vanish
If you grew up in Singapore anytime between the ’60s and ’90s, you may remember that unmistakable “ding ding” echoing through your estate — a candy uncle hammering away at a slab of hardened maltose. That was the cue for kids to grab whatever coins they had and sprint downstairs for some freshly cracked ding ding candy.
These days, that once-familiar sound has almost disappeared. But at the pasar malam next to Tampines MRT, husband-and-wife duo, Mr Cheong, 72, and Madam See, 67, are keeping the tradition alive with not just ding ding candy, but also dragon’s beard candy — another old-school sweet that you rarely see anymore.
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So what exactly is ding ding candy?
In case this nostalgic treat predates your childhood, here’s the lowdown: ding ding candy is a crunchy, sweet snack made by hammering a hardened slab of maltose until it splinters into little pieces. The rhythmic “ding ding” sound from the hammer striking the metal slab is how it got its name.
“When we were young, whenever we heard the uncle making the sound, we would run downstairs to buy it,” Madam See recalls. “Just hearing that sound made us happy.”
And if you’re thinking of trying to make ding ding candy at home, she jokes: “If you make this candy at home, the police will come for you because it’s so noisy!”
From tailor and shoemaker to candy masters
The couple weren’t always in the candy business. Madam See was once a tailor, while Mr Cheong used to make shoes. Why the switch in careers? “We used to do those jobs when we were younger, we just decided to eventually change occupation,” Madam See tells 8days.sg.
“We’ve been selling this for 25 years,” Mr Cheong adds.
“In the past, people had small tailoring or shoemaking shops. But they slowly disappeared, and now everything is made in factories,” Madam See explains of the career switch.
Is making candy tougher? She laughs: “Every occupation has its own hardships. Best is if we have a lot of money and don’t need to work!”
How they learned the craft
“A relative of mine taught me how to make ding ding candy,” Mr Cheong shares. “You have to thank him for passing you this skill!” Madam See chimes in.
Before settling temporarily at their current pasar malam spot, the couple sold their candy near NEX, then moved to VivoCity’s food court in 2016 — a stint that ended because the food court closed for upgrading. Since then, they have been itinerant sellers.
“If people want us to sell somewhere or there’s an event somewhere, we’ll go,” Madam See says.
But making a living from selling candy isn’t easy. “We can still survive, but we don’t earn a lot,” she admits. “We’re old now and we don’t have many skills left, but we can still make candy.” Their income isn’t fixed — some days are better, some days aren’t, she adds.
Dragon’s beard candy, once fit for emperors
While Mr Cheong handles the ding ding candy, Madam See is in charge of the more delicate dragon’s beard candy.
How many pulls does it take? “Maybe around 10 times? I don’t count,” Madam See chuckles. “It really depends on your skill, you need a bit of ‘internal energy’ to pull it!”
But Singapore’s heat makes things trickier. “Because the weather is hot, the maltose will melt easily. It’s best eaten immediately. Some people like to chill it in the fridge for extra crunch,” she says.
“We don’t know where we’ll go next”
The couple will only be at Tampines MRT pasar malam until 14 Dec.
But after that? “We don’t know exactly where we’ll be next,” Madam See says. “We can’t confirm if we’ll move back to VivoCity either.”
Not having a permanent shop space can be challenging. “Sometimes it’s hard,” she admits. “But having a fixed location is expensive. We’re old — we would prefer somewhere near where we live, but if the rent is too high, we can’t maintain it.”
How do customers track them down? “Some will ask where we’re going next or some will even ask for our phone number,” Madam See reveals.
The pair don’t keep fixed opening hours either. “Sometimes we’ll close to take a break because this job is quite tiring, it’s not easy,” Madam See admits. It takes about three hours to make a batch of both candies.
“I’m scared to be interviewed because we might not be able to cope with the crowd,” she laughs.
No children to inherit the craft
Since the couple have no children, will their traditional recipes disappear?
“We’ll see if any younger relatives are interested,” Madam See says. “If they want to learn, we’ll teach them. But we won’t teach outsiders.”
How long will they continue selling candy? “We’ll just work and see how — see how our health is,” Madam See says.
Will you see them again?
As for how to find them after 14 Dec, Mr Cheong gives a small smile: “If fate allows, you’ll find us.”
For now, you can get a box of their ding ding candy for $2, a box of their dragon’s beard candy for $6, and malt sugar for $3 a tub.
Ding Ding Candy is located at the pasar malam in the open field beside Tampines MRT. Open till 14 Dec.
Photos: Glyn Seah
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
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