Experience Peranakan Cultures in Penang

One of the highlights of my Penang trip 2 weeks ago was the Pinang Peranakan Mansion.

Located at 29 Church Street in Georgetown, this is a reconstruction of a typical home of the Straits Chinese (more commonly known as 'Babas' (for males) and 'Nonyas' (for females) living in Malaysia. These descendants of early Chinese emigrants often assimilated Malay and European cultures.

Just like in a typical affluent Peranakan household, there is a huge treasure trove of antiques. The Peranakans are house-proud, and spare no efforts to decorate their houses. The opulence can be seen everywhere, from the main hall, dining hall, to bridal chamber and silverware and jewelry rooms.

In the latter part of the 19th century, rich Straits Chinese started ordering custom-made porcelain wares from China. Peranakan porcelain are characterized by bright colors, such as bright yellow, green and pink.

This mansion was also used during the filming of The Little Nonya (小娘惹) - a critically-acclaimed drama serial produced by Singapore's MediaCorp in 2008.

Throughout the visit, my young female companion was waxing lyrical and reminiscing about various scenes from the drama serial e.g. "Did you remember this was the staircase when so and so came down the stairs?"; "Did you remember the dining room?"; "Did you remember this was where the ladies peeped out into the streets?"

You can read more about the architectures of Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Sun Yat-Sen Shophouse and Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia: The Eclectic Architecture of Sojourners and Settlers.