The Pearl of the Orient Nyonya Trail, by Shona Wee

 

If you ask any of your classmates or friends around you about Penang, the first thing that you would hear from them is the praises of the delicious mouth-watering food that Penang has to offer. Besides the must not missed food, another vital knowledge you have to know about is the peranakan trail in Penang! 

 If you ever want basic knowledge about the Penang peranakan, you should visit the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, which is located very near to SEGi Penang. It is open from 9.30 am to 5pm and adults needs to pay RM10 as entry fees, lucky for children it is free admission for them.

This is the main entrance of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. The bright colors and complicated carvings brings out the peranakan taste so much so that you can feel like you are in a totally different world, a good short term escape from the hectic reality we are facing currently.

Well, behind this beautiful walls not only consist of the antiques and artefacts, but also the history and memories that have been kept and protected like precious gems.

As you enter the mansion, you will see a big compound with plants decorated at the sides of the place. This mansion is a double story mansion, so you willnot have to worry about walking and climbing till you tire out.

  

There is no top roof at the centre of the compound, so if it rains, you will get wet.

I also noticed that the settings of the furniture in the Peranakan house are very spacious, but the designs and carvings are complicated.

There are around 3 dining rooms and more than 1 living room in this mansion.

Beautiful carvings surround the balcony at the centre of the compound on the 1^st floor.

More beautiful yet complicated furniture that is seated in each room that we enter. There are lots of pictures of the peranakan ancestors, that hung on each corner of the mansion, which is a little creepy when you are alone.

This is the main room of the mansion where wedding accessories and items are kept. Two wedding gowns are displayed on the bed here, and beside the bed there is a dressing table that has perfumes,  “bedak sejuk” which is a kind of cooling powder, and accessories of the peranakan bride. I did not manage to capture photos of it as Photography is not allowed in the mansion. 

This is one of the modern wedding gown which was worn by one of the peranakan people decades ago.

If you want to taste the typical Penang peranakan food in Selangor, you can try Nyonya Imperial restaurant in Puchong.

~No.1 Jalan Puteri 2/6,

  Bandar Puteri,

  47100 Puchong,

 Selangor

I was told by the waiter that the difference between the Penang peranakan food and Melacca peranakan food is that, Penang peranakan food is more to the Chinese tasten and contains more Asam in their cooking, whereas Melacca peranakan food is more to the Malay taste.

If you ever go to Penang, check out the Penang peranakan mansion and also other heritage site as it is a worth seeing and appreciating the history, especially the peranakan history.

Seeking Baba Nyonya Trails from the City Malacca! by Fiona Loo

When the Chinese traders arrived at the Malay Peninsula, the first stop is Malacca. It is at Malacca that has the deepest roots of the Peranakan society. Then from Malacca, the culture was exported to Singapore and Penang.

So, we decided to venture down to Malacca in search of Peranakan trails in the city. 

In groups of three, Kasie, Evelyn and I set out to Malacca early in the morning! 

(Too bad Shona can't make it because she was in Penang)

After reaching Melaka Sentral, we took town buses to the city.  

We got down at the Stadhuys (Red Square) and posed for a few shots.

After that it is time to start exploring for the Peranakan trail!

Cross the Malacca river and you will reach Jonker street. 

The Malacca River was once an important trade route in the 15th century. 

Many of the Baba-Nyonya shop houses adopt the Straits Eclectic style of architecture, combining Eastern and Western elements. They adopt full length French windows with a pair of full length shutters. Some of the window or door panels are beautifully carved to symbolize the wealth and status of the owner in the society. The houses are known for being long on length too!

Baba-Nyonya houses' structure have an opening in the middle courtyard. In tropical countries like Malaysia, it is believed that the houses were designed to relieve the heat and humidity of the weather. 

While there are also some poorly maintained Nyonya houses that eventually deteriorate after decades.



Unlike Baba Nyonya shop houses, the normal Chinese shop houses are more simple in architectural design. The left wooden shutter was put down and normal daily business was conducted there.

Walking along the streets, we found several old Baba Nyonya shop houses that is well-maintained and is still conducting business nowadays.

We came to a Nyonya house modified into a dessert shop, of which it is famous of its "Nyonya cendol" dessert. Cendol is a cooling dessert made of shaved ice, red beans, coconut milk, and 'gula melaka', and is a favorite for most Malaysians. 

The front, middle, and back hall is filled with tables and benches, and the shop owner had filled the shop decorating with antiques, preserving some Baba Nyonya design in the shop.

Other than that we stumbled upon a library open for the public in a Baba-Nyonya shop house too! It was spacious and cozy and we had spent the evening reading and relaxing there. The middle courtyard opening was decorated delicately. 

As we walked down the streets, we notice a handful of guest houses that attract tourists by serving Nyonya food and having a Peranakan house interior design. 

The Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum.

Inside, it is like reliving a real Baba Nyonya house. The detailed architecture of the house will amaze art lovers. If you have some time to spend in Malacca, remember to take some time to stop and have a look at the rich Baba Nyonya culture.

kuih-muih, nak? by Evelyn Ngui Ailing

If anyone tells me that baba and nyonya culture has all but disappeared from our normal homosapien’s life, I would slap them and drag them by the ears to our typical night market.

Yup, ladies and gentlemen, you did not hear me wrong. The night market it is.

aunty selling her kuihs

               Among the long rows and rows of stalls selling things from lingerie to knives that can cut through marble, there are stalls that sell kuih. 

               And most of those kuih, ladies and gentlemen, are nyonya kuihs. The famous ones include ondeh-ondeh, seri muka, kuih lapis, kuih dadar and much more. For those not from Malaysia that does not know what a kuih is, a kuih is to us Malaysians as to what scones are to the British. We eat them for breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper. In fact, the best thing about kuihs are that you can eat them anytime of the day!

           Like humans, there are fat kuihs and thin kuihs, round kuihs and square kuihs, kuihs with fillings and without, with layers and without, with hairy grated coconut or smooth and oily-kuihs come in all sizes, shapes and tastes! it usually tastes sweet and sticky, like a chewy piece of lollipop.

           For 70 cents per piece of kuih and RM 1.30 per box of ondeh-ondeh, it is cheap and indeed worth its weight in gold. in fact, the nyonya kuih is so firmly embedded in out culture that i was taught how to do ondeh-ondeh from scratch in high school during one of the Kemahiran Hidup classes! 

ondeh-ondeh

           The main ingredients in making these kuihs are mainly flour, baking powder, sugar, gula melaka and sometimes sago or grated coconut. the ingredients are cheap and can be found at almost any supermarket or grocery store, which explains why these delectable pieces are so cheap! 

kuih lapis

kuih dadar

the ang ku kuih with green bean paste filling

different types of ang ku kuih with red bean paste filling, coconut filling, etc.

different types of kuih including chai kuih and kuih dadar

             Sadly, the seri muka that i loved to eat when i was a kid was sold out. sigh. i guess there are plenty of others who like to reconcile in their childhood memories like me too.