Colorful candies on display at Papabubble Photo: Liu Sheng/GT

Everyone has a sweet candy memory from childhood: for Chinese, it may be a melted White Rabbit held tightly in the hands, or expats may fondly recall baskets full of goodies after an evening spent knocking on neighbors' doors shouting "Trick or Treat!"

To relive the happy taste of childhood, check out these stores that can turn your creative designs into unique, handmade candies.

Papabubble

Located on Julu Road, Papabubble is a candy house filled with colorful lollipops and cute sweets. The store features a unicorn, a dragon boat and even a nearly 70-centimeter-high Oriental Pearl Tower all made of candy. "As long as customers bring us photos or ideas, we can turn them into candy," candy artist Dai Leilei told the Global Times.

The customized candy can be photos of a beautiful girl, a token of love, or even the 12 Chinese zodiac signs. "The creative patterns usually take three days to a week to design and complete on candy," said Dai. 

Also popular with customers are tiny candies only 1 centimeter in diameter decorated with creative patterns. Watermelon, kiwi, cherry and peach are among the 16 flavors of fruit candy on offer. Just like the young Charlie Bucket visiting the Chocolate Factory, people feel like they are entering a childhood dream house surrounded by candy canes and colorful sweets. 

But the process of making candies is time-consuming and complicated. "Many people wonder how such exquisite patterns can be made on the candy. We don't paint on the candy directly, but add a layer of colorful syrup one after another starting from the middle," Dai said.

Candy artists first cook the sugar into syrup in a large pot, before pouring the syrup onto a freezing table to add imported pigments and flavors. By rubbing it rapidly, the syrup will gradually solidify into the right consistency. The thickened syrup requires continuous stretching and pulling to allow enough air to get inside, so as to make the candy more chewy and soft. After stretching it out, artists will lay the colored syrup on a nearly 100 C table, wrapping or adding additional thickened syrup layers, then they gradually pull the candy into a long cylindrical shape.

"After it cools down and is cut into small pieces, we can have hundreds of the same candies," said Dai.

Papabubble aims to make an art form out of candy-making; the store doesn't use any machines to produce large quantities of sweets, and each candy artist must undergo three months of training in Spain, where Papabubble is headquartered.

Address: 891 Julu Road

Candy Lab

Started by two Cantonese Australians who spent more than a decade making candy in Australia, Candy Lab tries to integrate novel flavors with interesting designs.

To mark the Dragon Boat Festival last month, the lab put the traditional holiday snack zongzi and the image of Qu Yuan on a cola flavored candy.

Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet who committed suicide by plunging himself into the Miluo River, was vividly rendered sporting a moustache and a hair bun.   

For newlyweds looking for a special memory of their ceremony, customized wedding candy can be made to impress guests. "Couples can design their own candy logos, like their initials, or a heart shape. It takes two weeks to create their unique candy," Candy Lab staffer Lucy told the Global Times. 

With summer in full swing, the store has launched a series of seasonal fruit flavors, including coconut, lychee and mangosteen.

Address: No.20, Tianzifang, Lane 210, Taikang Road

La Barnie

Though some customers complain about a plain flavor, many still succumb to the lovely looking cotton candies in this store. The candies are creatively disguised as various things: roses, fish, and most disgusting - or amazing - of all, sanitary pads.

Sold in pink packaging that looks deceptively similar to real maxi pads, the flat cotton candy is white and pink and even has two white wings. It is hard to tell what's inside as the cheeky slogan printed on the packaging reads: "a soft cotton experience."

It could be a good mischievous gift for a boyfriend on April Fools' Day, a customer commented online.

Address: B/2, Pacific Department Store, 333 Huaihai Road Middle