Sweet Sugar Painting for CNY

"Painting" a butterfly with sugar

Today is the fourth day of the Lunar New Year and some retailers are taking advantage of the Chinese festival to cater to their customers.

One is Canadian luxury retailer Holt Renfrew and has had a series of special events happening in the store downtown.

Days before the new year there was a Lego building exercise where a Lego certified master builder made a snake which is shown in the store, and a calligrapher to write fai chun, or new year couplets.

A completed bird on a stick 

Today being the fourth day, they had sugar painting, where a man used caramelised sugar to "paint" animals and insects. Customers could spin a wheel to see which one they could get, ranging from birds, dragonflies and butterflies.

Using a ladle with a round cup, the artisan deftly made the insect or bird and then placed a skewer on it as a holder. While it was drying, he made the next one, and as that was drying, he would use a metal slider to carefully remove it from the marble tabletop.

He drew a crowd, pleasing Chinese visitors, while non-Chinese were intrigued and lined up to get one.

Sweet, soft power in action.