The Peranakans in Phuket Town

The Marriott Beach Scene

Kitchenette and dining area

My friend invited me to join her for a stay in Marriott's Phuket Beach Club, where she is a member.

We had a lovely 2-bedroom apartment, complete with a little kitchenette, dining and living area.  It was a cosy little place, and as there were only the two of us, we had our own rooms and our privacy.

The resort has a private beach, but as it is jellyfish season, no swimming was allowed.  In any case, the waves looked pretty rough to me.  But it was very pleasant to walk down the beach, looking at the horizon where the sea meets the sky. And to sit by the private pool, with the pool boys bringing around water and the occasional snack (like watermelon).

The resort runs shuttles to Phuket Town and Patong, so we visited both places.  Phuket Town is the civic centre in Phuket, where the government buildings are and where the early Chinese migrants settled. I have been to Phuket before, but never to Phuket Town and so this was the first time I actually learnt that Phuket was a major settlement for Chinese migrants to South East Asia.  According to this site, they were drawn by the burgeoning tin industry.  The Peranakan community prospered and apparently about 70% of Phuket's residents have Peranakan roots!   Hence, here in southern Thailand, we saw Peranakan architecture, clothing and food similar to that of Singapore, Malacca and most of all Penang.

Night Market, Phuket Town

But before exploring Phuket Town, we had to have a massage.  We went to Kim's, which has a number of establishments in Phuket Town and I have to admit it was excellent.  And much, much cheaper than the resort spa (of course).  The ambience is not so serene and restful, but the massage itself really released all the tension in my muscles and back.

We then proceeded to the little "Chinatown".  We had come deliberately on Saturday evening so as to be able to go for the Sunday Night Market in Phuket Town.  I could just imagine myself in Malacca - the Peranakan shophouses either side, the food and souvenir stalls and crowds bustling around.  Buskers sang and their music filled the air.  We walked around, taking in the atmosphere and feeling the buzz.

China Inn, Phuket Town

Later on, we had dinner at China Inn - a restaurant in another old shophouse.  The walls were decorated with old photos - I assume of the family who owned the restaurant - with the ladies all dressed in their Baju Panjang and the men in their western suits.

The food was not so much Nonya as Thai though - we had fish cakes, stuffed chicken wings (yummy), fried brinjal and green curry.  We also had a coconut each - the flesh was young and tender, easy to remove, and the coconut water was so refreshing.  We ended up having coconuts at practically every meal thereafter!

The next day we went off to Patong, famous for its beach and its sex show strip.  We spent enough time on the beach to take a few photos and walked straight through the sex show strip.  We were here for other reasons - like shopping and food!  I bought quite a few packets of Thai sauces (there's a wide range) and my friend introduced me to crispy pork skins (truly addictive). 

Fresh fish at 99 Seafood

But the main reason for our visit was to patronise my friend's favourite Thai seafood restaurant (99 Seafood)!  We ordered so much food I'm amazed that we managed to finish as much as we did - tom yum soup, squid, prawns, a veg dish and this wonderful steamed fish which was then gently poached in a lime/lemongrass flavoured stock.  All the food was very fresh and well cooked - I can see why she comes back here every year.

All too soon, it was time to go home.  I'll always look back fondly on this short, leisurely visit filled with days snoozing by the pool, walking on the beach and eating yummy Thai food.  And of course, discovering yet another little outpost of the Peranakans.

Little Nonya Mural, Phuket Town

More photos here!

Penang Peranakan food

I was chatting to my colleague just before our holiday to Penang and she kindly shared with me a few restaurants which she had been patronising on her own frequent visits to Penang.

Prawn Noodles at Malay Street

As a result, we ended up going to quite a few restaurants this visit to Penang!  Of course there is that seafood one which I wrote about in my last post.  But because of this, we ended up going to fewer hawker stalls (except for the Malay Street coffee shop which we went to THREE times to eat the famous Tiger Char Kway Teow and our favourite lor bak and prawn noodles, washed down with "ampala" juice - also known as "umbra" or "kedongdong").  I have to admit I have also stopped writing up on my Penang hawker experiences - it was getting a little repetitive but maybe next trip we will have to make an effort to revisit all the old favourites.

Food - from left to right: jiu hu char, inche kabin chicken,
assam fish head, rendang, hee peow soup, acar/otak/hae bee

Anyway, we are trying to work our way through the nonya restaurants in Penang and our first visit this trip was to Ivy’s Kitchen on Jalan Chow Thye.  This is a small family restaurant - Ivy’s the cook and her husband runs the front of house.  The restaurant is not that big so it might be good to make a reservation.

The food was excellent - we had the assam fish head, the jiu hu char (bangkwang or jicama fried with cuttlefish, and wrapped up in a lettuce leaf before eating); a beautiful creamy otak-otak, fried inche kabin chicken, achar, rendang (nice and tender) and hee peow (fish maw) soup. 

My favourites were definitely the otak - this was incredibly creamy and delicate, and the assam fish head - the gravy was so tasty and the dish was sprinkled liberally with bunga kantan (torch ginger). But everything was really very tasty and the portions were  generous (sized for our group of eight).  In summary, this is was authentic and yummy nonya food at reasonable prices.  We're coming back here.

Food (clockwise, from top right): Laksa,
Too-thor thng, assam fish, jiu hu char,
babi pongteh, fried mixed veg.

The next restaurant we went to was quite different - Richard Rivalee's, in M Mall.  Richard Rivalee is a well-known fashion designer in Penang but he learnt how to cook his grandmother's nonya recipes.  He started off with a small cafe beside his boutique but has now expanded to a larger restaurant in M Mall.  I didn't have time to visit the mall but from what I understand it is targeted at tourists and as such the shops mainly sell branded goods so I don't think I missed much! The restaurant itself is really very charmingly decorated, with lots of little Peranakan touches about the place such as the tiles on the walls, the kebaya clad mannequins and the Chinese couplets on either side of the doors. 

Food-wise, I have to say that the rempah/ gravy for all the dishes were really tasty and authentic.  But I was not too happy that a number of dishes were not available, for example the otak-otak, and the ikan purut (fish stomach), which I had been looking forward to!  Also, when I ordered the fish dishes, they were the same selar fish whether it was achar fish or assam fish (what I ended up ordering after finding out that the otak and ikan purut were both not available). 

Besides the two fish dishes, we had jiu hu char (again), babi pongteh (rather nice), and too-thor thng (peppery pig stomach soup).  We also had a rather interesting mixed vegetable dish - with four angle beans, petai beans, fried together with onions, sambal and prawns.

But what I really enjoyed was the assam laksa!  The gravy was rich yet piquant, and the helping was pretty generous too.  It's not quite a "pure" assam laksa as I think they added coconut milk, which would make this "laksa cham" or a cross between assam and lemak laksa.  Mmmm.... I could come back for this next year, too. 

Can't wait!

If you want to look at all my Penang food reviews, they are here.

Buying Manek Potong Shoes

Every time we visit Malacca, we end up visiting this little Kasut Manek (Nonya beaded shoes) shop down Temple Street called Lim's Trading.

Down Temple Street

But it was always an exercise in window shopping.  For myself, I was determined not to buy another pair until I had finished making my own.  And that took years!  As for my dear friend, she makes her own shoes most of the time!

But this year I was determined that I would buy a pair of "Manek Potong" shoes.  For the uninitiated, "Manek Potong" represents the utmost pinnacle of beaded shoe craftsmanship.  The beads are smaller than the standard machine made beads, and even the better quality Japanese Beads.  Apparently they are made somewhere in the former Czechoslovakia, cut by hand such that the facets of the beads are less regular and reflect the light differently as a result.  Because the beads are smaller, the patterns on the shoes are more intricate as a result.  The beads are also difficult to get, because the Czech factory which made them has discontinued the line... ... at least that's what we are told but somehow there are rumours that there is a new source ...

Anyway, Mr Lim is well known in Malacca/Malaysia for his beaded shoes, as this New Straits Times article can testify.  (The article also gives a little more background on beaded shoes, which I'm not going into here as I've done so on a number of times on this blog already).  In 2012, he received the Unesco Seals of Excellence for Handicrafts in recognition of his work.  What is so unique is that rather than just use the "traditional" patterns, he designs his own beautiful designs, of goldfish swimming with water and seaweed rippling around them, of birds and flowers amidst the foliage.  You can choose yourself a pattern, and he will sew it up for you, get the cobbler to make up the shoe and post it to you.  I have to say that I was tempted to do that but fortunately I found the perfect shoe in terms of fit, design and style so I bought it on the spot (for a pretty penny, I should add). Here it is:

Birds and flowers - my Manek Potong shoes

In my humble opinion, they go nicely with my new turquoise kebaya and orange sarong :-)

Malacca Bunga Raya

It's the Year of the Dog!

For someone who goes so often to Malacca, is there anything left to write about?  Indeed, I am quite embarrassed sometimes that I seem to be going to the same old places year in, year out.  But this year was slightly different.  First, we were going with a group of four instead of a small little group of two, with their own added set of interests and priorities.  It was nice taking them to our favourite spots but equally, it was great to find new areas we had not been to.  Before this, we were getting into a "Malacca-shaped rut".  Second, it was just before the Chinese New Year and so the shopping opportunities opened up were quite different!  New Year goodies galore (as though Malacca wasn't filled with foodstuffs for greedy Singaporeans to buy already)!

So this year, our new discovery was Jalan Bunga Raya, just north of the Malacca river and near all the Kampong Jawa cooking equipment shops we discovered on a previous trip.  Bunga Raya was the old shopping street of Malacca, but the tourists deserted it for Jonker Street's charms and the locals were drawn to the newer malls with all the supermarkets and chain stores.  So today there is a sort of quietness about the place, where the shops seem to hark back to yesterday and their proprietors slowly greying together with it.  There is some rejuvenation, however, with new businesses starting up even as the main Jonker area gets more crowded and the benefits from the UNESCO status spill over out of the old town into the surrounding areas.  So there are newer restaurants and hotels starting up here.  We will see how it goes.  

Lanterns along Jalan Bunga Raya

We were, however, here in search of New Year lanterns and other decorations, which my friend wanted to deck her home with for CNY.  A local (I think it was either our hotel concierge, or our jeweller) recommended Jln Bunga Raya and so we walked over.  It was evening, the street was dark and many shops were closed or closing. But as we proceeded, suddenly a few brightly lit shops appeared, all the better to show off the beautiful lanterns, of silk, paper or a felt-like material (made out of recycled cloth).  

We wandered in and out of a few shops.  Most sold fabric and other haberdashery or craft items, but during the CNY period, pushed all these day-to-day goods to the back of the shop and instead stocked up on the decor for CNY.  Not just lanterns, but banners, tassels, paper cut pictures, and (since it is the year of the dog) lots of little stuffed dogs too.  Business was reasonably good for the few shops which remained open; I suppose either locals or well-informed tourists made their way here to get their CNY decor.

Down the Malacca River

Bunga Raya isn't exactly a short walk from our hotel in Heeren Street, so I didn't really expect to walk back the next day in the hot sun for lunch.  But that is what we did.  We were going to Manis J, the restaurant owned by the proprietor of the shoe shop, J Manik (of course at her suggestion).  It was a pleasant stroll by the river, lined by the old buildings (and some new extensions), which were decorated to catch the eye - some with brightly coloured murals, and others with fun/gimmicky items such as this one which featured old cars - Minis and Beetles.

Lunch itself was really quite good.  We had all our old nyonya favourites - Ngoh Hiang, Ayam Buah Keluak, Chap Chye, Hee Peow soup etc.  And for the hypercritical Singaporeans we are, there were no complaints.  Everyone ate happily.  And I don't think it was the long walk.

Lunch at J Manis

Peacocking around in blue

Peacocking

How I love a new kebaya!

When I visited Penang last year, I paid a visit to the lady who made me my first kebaya all those years ago.  I didn't order anything then - my cousin was theoretically the one buying the kebaya and  we were in a hurry so I didn't have much time to shop on my own account.  But after leaving Penang, and a number of WhatsApps later, I had asked the proprietor to bring over a few blue kebayas when she next came to Singapore.

It was a tough choice, with dragonflies, floral patterns and ducks all fighting for my attention.  But my interest was first piqued by a turquoise blue kebaya with a brilliantly coloured pair of peacocks on the front in golden yellow and orange.  I wore it around Christmas, over pants.  And to the Peranakan mass on Chinese New Year eve over my most favourite green sarong skirt.  But somehow they didn't quite go...

My blue and red combination

 So this latest visit to Penang, I made another visit to the shop and came away with an order for a sarong to match my kebaya.  It's most CNY appropriate, all reds and oranges.  It is also very different from my rather staid and boring sarongs of the past, which were green or purple.

And fortunately enough, my aunt gave me a pair of shoes which her Mother-in-law gave her and which she didn't really feel went with her own clothing.  But it went very nicely with my peacocks and sarong skirt!

As many people have admired my kebaya, what has also been happening is that I have been giving the name of my kebaya contact to various friends and relatives, and even a few colleagues.  And because she comes down to Singapore quite frequently to "deliver" to her customers, you don't even need to visit Penang!  As such, a lot of them have ended up making purchases and so now I have now indeed acquired "most favoured customer" status.  Indeed she is quite well reputed, as her designs are quite unusual and different from the rather standard designs you get in the mass manufactured kebaya shops.  Of course, you pay a little more but I think it is well worth it.  You can find out more about County Fair Boutique on its Facebook page and also on Time Out.

I have to admit that my last visit, I didn't just buy a kebaya but also a chili hot cheongsam with beautiful embroidery below.  So maybe come Chinese New Year, there will be another photo update of my embroidered purchases.

Mum's Nyonya Cuisine, Penang

For a Peranakan haven like Penang, it can be surprisingly difficult to get good Peranakan food.  As my uncle said, "home food is best".
So Penang Peranakan families don't go out that much and it is not so easy to find a good Peranakan restaurant in Penang!  Last year, we visited this interesting restaurant near our hotel, in Nordin Street with its unique home environment, genial host and personal demonstration by his mother.  This time round, we were fortunate to have a good, authentic nyonya meal at Mum's Nyonya Cuisine which my relatives took us to.

This is my third food post out of the three posts on this Penang trip, and actually I could go on since I've not really completely covered my hawker food experience (aside from the "Balik Pulau" laksa mention). But then, I've a few earlier posts on this subject from previous visits too, and it is getting a little bit same-same.  I have however put up the shots on my Penang album on Flickr - so if you are interested, do hop over to take a look for what I ate at Jelutong Market, Kimberly Street and the eternal favourite,  New Lane Coffee Shop.

But since I haven't that many restaurant reviews, I'm pleased to devote this post all to Mum's Nyonya Restaurant.  Many Singaporeans are confused by Penang nyonya food because it has marked differences from the Singapore-Malacca brand of Peranakan cuisine.  For example, the use of "assam" flavours rather than "lemak" flavours (its a question of degree; of course Penang food has coconut as well just less so) and the more extensive variety of herbs used.  The influences are Thai, rather than Indonesian (so buah keluak lovers, I am afraid that your favourite dish is not so common here), although some all time favourites like beef rendang find their way everywhere!

Anyway, this is a good place to enjoy the Penang specialities, such as the acar fish (see the recipe here) which is a deep fried fish in a vinegary sauce (which pickles it, hence the name "acar"), and Ju Hu Cha (Cuttlefish strips fried with turnip/carrot/mushroom and rolled in a lettuce leaf) etc.  I also was introduced to a new dish, ikan purut or a fish belly dish cooked with lots of herbs and vegetables.  It is a Penang specialty, which is rather fiddly to cook so it is not surprising that many restaurants don't serve it.  ( See a recipe for ikan purut here.)  These are indeed unique dishes which are not really served in the Singapore Nonya restaurants here, so please do give them a try when in Penang.  After all, what's the point of going to Penang and then trying to look for all the Singapore-style dishes!

Ju Hu Cha

Achar Fish

Ikan Purut

But every dish was yummy and I truly enjoyed the meal.  The slight let down was dessert - not much choice and quite unmemorable (I don't remember what I had and didn't take a photo, which just goes to show how unmemorable I found it).

Better than the food was the company.  The Singapore delegation and our Penang relatives filled two large tables of the little restaurant.  One of my Penang uncles told us little stories about our family during the meal.  How our distant relative, who had been expelled from Indonesia during Confrontation and went back to China, managed to find his way to Penang and to our family home in Malay Street.  Although it had been so many years since his last visit, he remembered the name of the street in Hokkien (apparently, it is called "Thai Gu Hang") and once there, he recognised the house.  He waited outside for some time till my uncle returned and finally he was able to reunite with this branch of the family.  Since then, my Penang relatives hosted a family reunion in Penang and also visited their family members in China.  Because some used to live in Indonesia, they speak some Bahasa and still retain their Hokkien (in addition to Mandarin).  So they are able to communicate with my relatives (who don't speak Mandarin, only English, Bahasa and Hokkien!)  According to my uncle, they remember his great-grandfather (my great-grandfather) very fondly due to the assistance he had rendered them in their times of need.

After dinner, we went back to the family house.  My sister and brother-in-law had never visited before so for them, it was indeed a special experience.  My uncle showed us the improvements he had made since his last visit (he is a self-taught home restorer) and it is indeed impressive to see the progress he makes each time we visit.  Indeed it is the chance to reconnect with our Penang relatives which make each visit back so special.

Michelin Meal at Candlenut Restaurant

Earlier this year, the Michelin inspectors made their way to Singapore and awarded their very first Michelin stars to our local restaurants!  Singaporeans being the hypercritical, food-loving people we are, we derived a lot of pleasure critiquing the Michelin inspectors' choices (a soy sauce chicken restaurant to get a Michelin star??) and commenting that obviously they didn't do a proper survey.  But nonetheless, it remains a source of pleasure and pride that a Peranakan restaurant made the list!

Now, I have been going to Candlenut Restaurant, off and on, for the past few years.  It used to be in the Duxton area, then moved to Dorsett Hotel, right on the border of Chinatown.  And now, since 1 Nov 2016, it has shifted all the way to Dempsey Hill.  I assume that the loss of accessibility will be made up for by the increase in publicity from that Michelin star.

Anyway, my colleagues and I decided to to try it.  So we wended our way to Dempsey Hill to sample the Michelin star cuisine.

As there were a number of us, we were able to sample a variety of dishes.  I think that where Candlenut shines is indeed in its rempahs - or spice mixes - which are aromatic and flavourful.  Their rendang was delicious, with the tender beef and rich gravy complementing each other well.  I also loved their wing bean salad, with the subtle flavours of lemongrass and lime in the tangy dressing.  Their charcoal grilled sea bass was perfectly cooked, although I really did find the serving rather small.  I found the sayer lodeh ordinary though (even though it came with a large prawn) and the ladies' fingers quite boring.  In general, I must admit that the plating is of a much higher standard than the typical Nonya restaurant, where the food is just scooped into the dish with maybe a little coriander or spring onion sprinkled on top.

Pictured below (from top-down): Ayam buah keluak, beef rendang, sambal sotong, charcoal-grilled fish, wing bean (kacang botol) salad.

Not forgetting dessert.... .... I think my favourite dessert remains the "Textures of Coconut", with the coconut sorbet sitting on a base of coconut jelly, topped with coconut cream and desiccated coconut.  It's so fresh and light, yet rich and creamy at the same time.  Sorry no photo - I was too greedy and forgot to take one (just tucked right in).

Is this a Michelin worthy meal?  To be honest, I don't see it as being so superior to other good Peranakan restaurants (and others are "better value" aka cheaper).  But it is a very nice restaurant and it was a truly delicious meal.  So yes, I would definitely go there again.

Nyonya Needlework

On the Curator's Tour

 The latest exhibition at the Peranakan Museum Singapore is on "Nyonya Needlework".  I had the pleasure of going on a Curator's Tour of the exhibition the other week, and learnt so much about the history of this beautiful craft as well as about the numerous beaded and embroidered exhibits!

The curator was at pains to explain two key points.  First, that "needlework" here was used as a generic term to cover embroidered and beaded items.  Second, that the exhibits may not have been personally made by the nyonyas themselves for their own use or that of their families.  Just like today, they may have been made by seamstresses/ shoemakers, or beadworkers/embroiderers who do this job for a living.  (There was one piece which was apparently worked on by the nyonya herself and the quality, according to the curator, was not so good).  I do tend to agree that the intricacy and scale of some of these pieces may have been beyond the scope of a normal household.

The exhibition is divided into 5 main sections: the first looks at needlework techniques and materials;

Phoenix in flight - detail from bed hanging

the second, on the auspicious symbols and elements which are often incorporated into the needlework pieces; the other three sections covered exhibits from Indonesia, Malacca/Singapore, and Penang.   Our curator showed us one of the oldest known examples of Peranakan embroidery - a simple bed hanging from Indonesia, which had been sent to a Dutch museum.  The date of acquisition, in the mid 1840s, had been recorded by the museum - it was really wonderful to see that even after all these years, the bed hanging was still in such good condition.

My favourite piece was another bed hanging, a very intricate bed hanging for a wedding bed which used a threading technique to thread the beads together.  It was a truly spectacular piece, designed to hang from the top of the bed.  The curator noted that it was likely used only for the wedding itself, given that it was rather heavy and not practical for everyday use.  Again, I marvelled that such a delicate item had survived for so long and in such good condition, that we could continue to admire it even today.

Aside from the intricate threading work (the technique has been lost in the mists of time), I really like the cute little boatmen, the animals (birds, a little dragon, and some other strange creature), and the beautiful, beaded fringe.

Threaded Wedding Bed Hanging

The exhibits also helped illustrate the practices and way of life of the Peranakan community.  Use of European motifs (e.g. light haired children, dogs, cats etc) showed how the community sought to emulate the western way of life, but adapted to suit their own preferences.  It showed how the community thought of itself as still very Chinese, as can be seen in the use of Chinese symbols and motifs as well.  The Penang section, according to the curator, presented the items used in the wedding chamber, such as a lovely embroidered silk tablecloth, wall items and clothing items.

I am just a very amateur beadworker (and I am not too sure that I want to embark upon a second pair of shoes at this point in time).  But somehow, I did feel that sense of connection to nyonyas past who had painstakingly worked on making this beautiful items to delight the eye.

There are many more photos of the exhibition to be seen at my Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=date-taken-desc&safe_search=1&tags=nyonyaneedlework&user_id=58375502%40N00&view_all=1

The Long Table

The "Tok Panjang" is a Hokkien/Malay "portmanteau word" which means "long table", or a table liberally covered with lots of yummy dishes where the family serves itself, buffet style, on special occasions such as Chinese New Year or birthdays, etc.

It's also the name of a new restaurant on East Coast Road, which ironically serves a limited menu meant for individuals/ small groups having a quick meal.   Dishes like mee siam, Penang laksa, Nonya Lam Mee, etc.  There are a few mains such as babi pongteh, rendang, and sambal prawns, which can be purchased a la carte or as a set (which comes with rice and a serving of chap chye and itek tim).  It has also a selection of appetisers for sharing, such as kueh pie tee, ngor hiang, etc.

In general, the food is tasty and good as one would expect of restaurants under the House of Peranakan group.  I enjoyed the mee siam, which was sharp and tangy, and the Penang Laksa tastes like the real thing.  Even my father (who compares every bowl of Penang laksa to his grandmother's family recipe) said it was "quite good".  On another occasion we shared a babi pongteh set and sambal prawns amongst two people and it was probably just right for two light eaters.

Prices are reasonable too - though obviously a little more expensive than hawker centres.  But I did find the appetisers a little on the expensive side, as portions are small.

In the highly competitive restaurant scene, it's really a struggle for all these small restaurants to survive and thrive.  All I can do is publicise my favourites as best I can on this blog.

So here's wishing Tok Panjang well!

A Penang Nonya Meal

Little Kitchen@Noordin Street

Surprising as it may seem, I have never had a meal at a good Nonya restaurant in Penang.  One reason is because of our insistence of chasing down every single lead we have on yummy hawker food.  Another reason is that my Penang relatives keep on talking about how "home cooking" beats all the restaurants hollow.  So they don't really have good suggestions for us.  Lastly, there are other good Chinese restaurants in Penang (eg the time I had a simple, tasty Hainanese meal).

So this time round we made special efforts to find a good Nonya restaurant to host dinner for our relatives.  After consultations/online research etc etc we finally found "Little Kitchen@Nyonya" which was located just behind our hotel.  The sheer convenience sold it for us.  

Lucky Bat

Having said that, there are a good number of reviews of the Little Kitchen online, such as this one. Set in a residential area, the restaurant is a family-run business and they run it from their own home.  All the restaurant "staff" are family members, with the host/owner Mr Loh taking the orders, his mother, wife and other family members doing the cooking and serving of the food.

The restaurant is actually the front reception room of the family home.  The family used to run a bird's nest business and there are samples of the nests on the walls and in big jars standing on the tops of the cabinets in the home.  Evidently the business did well, as this is a beautiful home - large, ornately decorated in the Peranakan style.  Cast-iron grilles adorn the windows and doors, and the rooms are decorated with beautiful plaster mouldings and with lucky symbols such as the bat (which represents the five fortunes of good health, wealth, longevity, virtuousness and a peaceful death) on the pillars. The furniture looks mostly antique - from the old carved cabinets, the massive dark wooden chairs, the wood-and-marble day bed, etc etc.  It looks and feels like what it is - a traditional family home.

Family dining table, also used when the diners overflow
restaurant area

An ornate screen separates the restaurant area from the family area. Whilst the restaurant is meant to be confined in the front reception room, on busy nights, it overflows into the family dining area behind.  The kitchen is traditionally located at the back of a peranakan house but in this case, they moved it to the adjacent garage/driveway to be nearer to the dining area.  Not many households would have had a car in those days, so you can tell that this was indeed a well-off family!

There is a set dinner of about 8 dishes (a soup, vegetables, chicken, prawns, fish, curry, meat, rice) for RM128 per person.  There's a 5 dish set as well, and a more expensive set but this is the one we chose.  Food is traditional Penang nonya, cooked by the women of the family.  According to the owner, Mr Loh, they decided to start up the restaurant because his mother was lonely and bored after her Husband died and she had no one to cook for.  She's now in her eighties and still going strong!

Mrs Loh senior preparing Nasi Ulam

The food also comes with free flow of drinks - nutmeg (hot and cold), longan tea and green tea.  Prepared in advance, you can help yourself from the large thermos flasks on the sideboard.  There's kueh kueh to start off with, and dessert to end up with.  After our kueh kueh, dinner proper started off a traditional nasi ulam, the mixture of rice and finely chopped herbs and dried prawns which I've written about in an earlier post.  This is indeed the highlight of the meal, where Mrs Loh senior slices and dices the herbs finely whilst we watch and admire her knife skills.  Mr Loh explains the dish and presents the herbs which are used in the dish.  He even gives a little quiz and hands out a prize to my aunt, who gave the right answer.  Together, they give a polished performance.  Mr Loh admits that his mother still won't let him wield the knife as she says his knife skills just aren't good enough.  Light, fresh and tasty, the nasi ulam doesn't last long as we eat it with gusto.

The other dishes come quick and fast - pig's trotted soup, chincalok pork, prawn and pineapple curry, my favourite four-angled beans and lady's fingers with sambal, kari kapitan (chicken curry),  and the tangy achar fish.  We finished off with pulot hitam, the black glutinous rice porridge served with coconut milk.  The food won't win any prizes for presentation ("plating" is certainly not a concept known in the Peranakan kitchen), but for good, hearty traditional home-cooked nyonya food - this is a winner.  

More photos on Flickr.

Up in the clouds... My Sparkly Pink Pair of Kasut Manek

I took a trip down to Malacca last weekend. Having finished off my beading work, it was time to transform it into a pair of shoes.

My friend told me about a Singapore shoemaker. But said also that he was very busy, and as such could take some time to finish the shoes.  Impatient me, I could not wait.  And since we had this trip to Malacca lined up, I decided that I'd see if there was a shoemaker who could rush my order.  

Truth be told, I actually arranged my trip to Malacca partly also because I needed some push to finish off my shoes.  Well, it worked, didn't it?

The first shop we went to, sadly could not do it in time.  This meant that they would have to post it back to Singapore.  Not an option for someone who has spent six years beading her precious shoes and doesn't want to risk the shoes going astray.

Fortunately the next shop we found could do it in 48 hours, albeit at an express rate.  And the best part - it was in front of our hotel!  And they had this vibrant pink leather to pull the shoe together.   And the next day when we walked past the shop we saw the shoes in the process of being made.  It was an exciting moment!  

I was so pleased to pick them up the next day.  Don't they look absolutely gorgeous!

For reference, the shop is Wah Aik and it is along Heeren Street, aka Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.

Almost there, after six years

I have been deliberately holding back this post, so that I could unveil in its full glory the one shoe I have finally completed!  After all, this is the sixth year I have been working on this one project.... .... If anything, I should get an award for perseverance ....

Of course it would have been wonderful if I could have unveiled two completed shoes, but unfortunately didn't quite make the time to finish it over the usually quite productive December period.  

Anyway, here are a few shots of the critical last stages of the left shoe:

One corner done

Sewing the last few beads on the other corner

And that's the whole shoe finished!

Old Bibik's Restaurant

It is a precarious business, reviewing restaurants.  The Singapore F&B scene is a highly competitive one and I have to admit that many of the restaurants covered in this blog have since closed.

But I do think that when I come across a nice restaurant, it is good to share the news.  It is in that spirit that I now embark upon this review of "Old Bibik's Restaurant".

Old Bibik's was formerly in the Lavender Street food market before the market was closed, and has now relocated to the MDIS building at 190 Changi Road  Famed for its rendang, the restaurant offers a range of nonya dishes and there's a handy list of one-dish meals which are good for take-aways.

We went there for lunch one Sunday afternoon - ate their famous rendang which indeed was tender and flavourful.  I really enjoyed the fried chicken wings - well fried, savoury.  Their "soy chendol" dessert, made up of a tau huay pudding-style base with the red beans and little green chendol "worms" on top, is also light and refreshing.    

Since then we have been back a few times and have always come away satisfied.  So, do give it a try.

Great Peranakans: Learning about the Grandfathers behind the roads

There is a odd little phrase we use in Singapore, typically directed at people who are taking their own sweet time to cross the road - "your grandfather's road is it"? For some people, the answer could be .... ... Yes!

Tan Tock Seng

Today, I visited the Peranakan Museum's exhibition on Great Peranakans: Fifty Remarkable Lives, featuring babas and nonyas who had contributed to Singapore's early economicdevelopment and nation-building, also to its cultural and social development.  Some are well-known, like Mr Tan Tock Seng, who endowed the Chinese Paupers' Hospital, which subsequently was named after him, but still following in his tradition of caring for all who enter its doors.  Or Lim Boon Keng, Tan Cheng Lock, etc, who at least I have heard of within more "modern" times!

Others are less well-known - maybe  remembered best for the roads named after them, such as Seah  Liang Seah of Liang Seah street,  Tan Kim Tian (Kim Tian Road in Tiong Bahru) or Tan Keong Saik of Keong Saik street.(I'm sure he's glad that his street is now a row of nice eateries rather than a row of brothels....).  And who knew that Koon Seng road (the one with pretty pastel houses, see my earlier post here - although I didn't mention the street's name) was known for the development of Malay theatre in Singapore?And of course, Mr Chew Joo Chiat, who owned the land on both sides of the road which bears his name today.

The majority of those mentioned are men, but I was glad to see a few ladies' names subsequently appear.

Painting of Mandalay Villa

Ladiies like Dr Lee Choo Neo, Singapore's first female physician (and Lee Kuan Yew's aunt), her good friend Mrs Tay Lian Teck (yes, there is another road named after her husband - he died during WWII), and Mrs Lee Choon Guan (Mdm Tan Teck Neo, daughter of Tan Keong Saik).  Mrs Lee was a well known socialite and famous hostess, who threw big parties at her mansion, Mandalay Villa on Amber Road (of course it has been long since torn down). It was at one of these parties that a certain Mr LKY asked a young Miss KGC to wait for him, till he came back from his studies in the UK. Back then, I suppose the Peranakan community was small and relatively close.

The other fascinating thread that runs through it - families.  Tan Tock Seng's oldest son Tan Kim Ching (apparently rumoured to be the head of some secret societies) but also a good friend of the Thai Royal family, due to his trading connections; Kim Ching's grandson, Tan Boo Liat; Tan Tock Seng's grandson by his third son, Tan Chay Yan (who started a rubber plantation here in Malaya), and Maggie Lim (nee Tan), a seventh generation descendent of Tan Tock Seng who started family planning in Singapore.

On the left, Kwa GC's wig and on the right, Lee KY's

The political leaders who contributed to modern Singapore are profiled too - Lim Yew Hock, the second Chief Minister of Singapore, and from the PAP - Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Lim Kim San, and of course Lee Kuan Yew are featured too. I did not know that Mr Lee never referred to himself as a Peranakan or a Baba, but of course if his mother is the author of one of the best known Nonya cookbooks it is a dead giveaway (to take just one small example).  Mrs Lee is also featured in the exhibition and hers and Mr Lee's lawyers' wigs share a prime spot.

In short, this exhibition, held as it is in Singapore's SG50 Jubilee year, is indeed timely for younger Singaporeans to remember and celebrate the roles and contributions the Peranakan community has played in the development of Singapore.  And find out what it takes to get a road named after you......

P.S. In case you can't make it down, there is an app!  The coolest thing.  Features some of the Peranakans profiled (not all), with a short profile, little audio recordings, etc.  Just search for "Great Peranakans" on your phone and check it out. There is also a book, "Great Peranakans: Fifty  Remarkable Lives" based on the exhibition and available at the National Library.  As at this moment of writing, it is sitting on the table beside me.

Peranakan Arts Festival 2015

I was intending to make a trip down to Malacca this year end but for various reasons (largely scheduling) it did not work out.  But in the end, I didn't mind too much because I got to go to the Peranakan Arts Festival instead!

Programme booklet - inside cover

The Peranakan Arts Festival was held from 4-8 Nov 2015 and comprised numerous components:

- The Ba-bazaar!  One of my fave events, not just the stalls but the accompanying talks, cooking demonstrations, etc.

- The Baba-Nonya Convention 2015

- Two plays, Pintu Pagar and Bibiks behind Bars, Kena Again

- An art exhibition

- A Tok Panjang wedding dinner to round off the event

Typically, there is an annual Convention and Ba-bazaar but I believe that this year, the intent was to broaden the event into a full-blown festival, celebrating the Baba-Nonya culture.  Thus the inclusion of the plays and the art exhibition too.  

My friend and I picked up tickets for "Pintu Pagar" - the Friday matinee.  We had made a pact to dress up in our sarong kebaya and met accordingly at the Ba-bazaar 2 hours before the show started, to wander around the shops and attend the cooking demonstration.  We had thought that there would be tonnes of people there all dressed up in sarong kebaya.... shall we say that maybe they were planning to come dressed for the evening shows or the dinner instead.  And then at last we spotted at a distance one lady making her way to the big tent, dressed up in her kebaya.... ... and lugging some big bags as well.  She was one of the stall holders!  

The shops themselves had a good variety of makan, jewellery, some kitchenware and curios (including a few shops from Malacca as well).  There was also a books stall, with recipe books and heritage related books.  I restrained myself from buying more cookbooks and bought just one book  - 'Being Baba", a compilation of articles from "The Peranakan", the magazine of the Peranakan Association Singapore.

Baba Philip Chia demonstrating his signature laksa

The cooking demonstration was hosted by Baba Philip Chia, who was making his signature laksa for the audience.  Baba Chia explained that he picked up his cooking from his various aunties, each of whom had her own special dish.  He discussed the herbs and rempah which go into the traditional Singapore/Malacca laksa recipe and the audience got to play with the various herbs as well.  Of course, the highlight of the event was sampling his yummy, super-lemak laksa. His other cooking demonstrations include mee siam and peranakan canapes (paired with wine).  His cookbooks were also on sale at the little bookshop.  More about him in this article. 

After the cooking demo, it was time for the play.  The theatre was not full - I guess most people were more attracted by "Bibiks behind Bars".  But "Pintu Pagar" was something a little different.  It was not in the Baba Malay patois but in English, with occasional words here and there (but not many).  It had just four actors, two of whom played dual roles as the parents of the star-crossed lovers who were the focus of the play.  "Pintu Pagar" refers to the half-door entry to a Peranakan home.  The typical home has a full door, which is open during the day and only the half door is closed, providing privacy whilst allowing for some ventilation into the house.  The analogy to our loving duo?  That the two doors swing together side by side, but never meet...

Anyway, our two lovers are star crossed indeed.  Our 14-year old nonya meets her 17-year old (non-baba) neighbour but the families don't get along.  So they marry other people and whilst their paths cross occasionally, they live their lives apart.  I liked the premise of the play, but did feel that it was a little too dramatic for me - arranged marriage to older husband, sickly child, wife with mental condition etc etc.  And of course by the time they get together, it is (almost) too late.  Could it have been equally effective without such drama?  I think so, personally.  I was also not sure whether the dialogue reflected accurately the phrases in use at the times (eg in the 1960s) - sometimes it sounded just too "2000s" to me.  Nonetheless the two leads delivered competent performances.  The star performer, however, was definitely Nora Samosir's performance as the mothers of both our nonya and her beau.  Her elegantly slim kebaya-clad figure (and outrageous hairdo) and nonya "accent" contrasted completely with the simple clothing and gentle tones of the young man's mother.  Her husband(s) too was able to show an effective contrast in performance as he played his dual roles.  

In short, I had a thoroughly enjoyable festival, reconnecting with my nonya self.  Looking forward to putting on my kebaya again for CNY....     

Five years nine months

Not much done since the last update, but there was a pick up in pace over the last few weeks.

New year, (more) new clothes

One of my favourite things about Chinese New Year is that I get to wear all my nonya baju without people looking funnily at me, or maybe I mean that I can buy new nonya baju to wear at Chinese New Year.  So when I was last in Malacca, I took the opportunity to buy myself a new kebaya top. And of course, I got all gussied up today in my new kebaya, and my new Intan bracelet.

I really like the fresh pink flowers and fresh green leaves on the white Swiss voile background.  And the little lines of kotok or the special "holey" seams make it oh-so-traditional too.

So now I have three kebaya tops, one each from the three nonya strongholds of Malacca, Penang and of course Singapore.

But going back to my earlier point.  I recall that when I was in Japan, I did see ladies walking around in their elegant kimono. Of course, maybe this was because I was in the traditional part of old Kyoto.  But I do think that people feel comfortable and confident in wandering around in their traditional dress, in a way we don't quite do here in Singapore except on these rare occasions.  So maybe I should throw all this diffidence about wearing the sarong kebaya out of the window and glide out confidently in my lovely clothes whenever I can.

Have a Happy Chinese. New Year, or as someone smsed me in this strange combination of Chinese and English puns, "yang yang dou very goat".