Pinang Peranakan Museum Part 2

Continued from the previous post! This is Part 2 :)
(Make sure you read Part 1 to know what I'm talking about!)

In one of the rooms on the first floor, a dazzling display of exquisite glass epergnes is showcased here.



Believe it or not, this is called a love seat! And I'm doing a love signnnnn. Well, according to our guide, the couple can talk while facing each other and turn away when they're quarelling. LOL.



I love this the most! I wanna learn how to use it! Btw it's an old-fashioned camera :D



A basin and a mirror in the corner of the hall.



This is one of the bridal chambers. That is the bridal bed obviously. Notice the small cage at the bottom of the bed?



According to our guide, a hen and a rooster belonging to the bride and bridegroom respectively will be put into that cage during their first night together. In the morning, the in-laws will come into the room and if the rooster is the first one to come out, their future grandchildren will be a boy, and vice versa.

However, if none of them come out, there will be no children for the couple. Haha very interesting! :p

(A few of the pictures below will be in red because of the lighting -.- So ugly lol. I used auto-colour to edit it but the difference is slight though.)



Bottles of perfume on the dressing table.



Wedding head gear. Can you imagine having a heavy thing like that being put on your head for the rest of the ceremony?



Some sewing did by the Nyonyas. Coz you know, in the olden days they didn't have Internet and Facebook and Twitter and shopping malls so yeah.



Beads for the shoes I suppose? I think the use it to decorate other stuff too.



The basin which the bride used to wash her face I think! I always see this in movies; now I'm really seeing it! XD



Enormous commissioned paintings of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee's parents and grandparents adorn its walls, bearing testimony to the Kapitan Cina's filial piety.



Impressive collection of the Nyonyas' jewellery displayed in glass cases. Everything is in pure gold, like seriously! :O



Our guide says that the people wore gold jewellery during happy occasions/events like during a wedding...



...and silver for a funeral service as a respect for the dead and to show their mourning.



Back downstairs again.





This is the long table where the "tok panjang" sits at the head of the table. The head of the table is a very special place, and I'll tell you why.



You're able to see everything that's going on in the central courtyard, who's coming in to your house, and who's coming down the staircase - just by sitting at the head.

That's because two huge mirrors are hanged on opposite sides of the wall! It's like the CCTV now lol! Pretty cool huh? ;)





Right next to the main dining hall, there's the western-style dining hall specially catered for the Chinese guests.



And on the other side, the chinese-style dining hall for the Western guests.



The reason they arranged it like that is simple: you don't wanna get bored eating the same food you eat everyday when you travel to foreign places right? :)

Crystal glass door handles. Super cool!



The back corridor has displays showing the history and crafting of beaded Peranakan shoes.





Beautiful and colourful decorations!



Old-fashioned fan and the gold-plated sign hanging above the door of the traditional main hall - which is to the left of the central courtyard.



The external annexe houses the kitchen. To go to the kitchen, you have to pass through what looked like a secret passage to me XD

A baby carriage on the left, and a barber chair on the right.



This is a baby cot I think. My mom says she had it when she was young! :O



Disover the quaint implements, kitchenware and cake moulds here.







The toilets! Lol :p



There's an ancestral temple at the back of the mansion too. You can see scenes of it in TLN. The Chung Ancestral Temple adjoins the Pinang Peranakan Mansion through a hidden passage between the two buildings. It was built by the Kapitan Cina in 1899 and is now fully restored to its original splendour by craftsmen from China - employing traditional methods and techniques.

The temple is ornately decorated with intricate Chinese wood carvings embellished with gold leaf. On the walls above, ceramic figurines in tableaux casting dramatic scenes from Chinese legends peer down at the visitor. A trail through a hidden passage leads to the infamous well with its unfounded tales and secrets.

(I didn't visit the well because the guide didn't take us there..)

So that's all! The Pinang Peranakan Mansion is LOCATED at:
29, Church Street, 10200 Penang, Malaysia.

It's a place full of history and interesting information! You won't regret it :D

For enquiries and reservations, please CONTACT:
Phone: 604-2642929
Fax: 604-2641929
Email: rmhbaba@streamyx.com / rmhbaba@gmail.com
Website: www. pinangperanakanmansion.com

FYI, they even offer the place for functions be it birthday parties, lunch, dinner, wedding, anniversary, seminar, product launch etc!

VISITING HOURS:
Daily from 9.30am to 5.00pm

ADMISSION:
Adult - RM10.00
Child - RM5.00 (below 12 yrs)
(Child below 6 yrs - free!)

P/S: They'll provide you a free guide to take you around the place to explain everything, so don't worry! It is optional though :)

Pinang Peranakan Musuem Part 1

I'M BACK IN KL AND WILL BE STARTING COLLEGE TOMORROW! Geeeeez. So I'll be blogging as fast as possible. Heh.

When I was in Penang for the holidays in December, I visited the Pinang Peranakan Museum.



The Peranakans - or the Babas and Nyonyas - are a community of acculturated Chinese. They are also known as the Straits Chinese, having settled along the British Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore.



The Peranakans adopted local Malay ways and the British colonial lifestyle. These influenced its rich culture, customs, cuisine, language and lifestyle that are still evident in Penang today.



It may looked very familiar to some of you, as this mansion was featured in various TV shows including the more popular Singaporean drama series The Little Nyonya (TLN).



Some pictures of the casts and crew.



That's Qi Yi Wu (or Chen Xi in TLN) in white shirt, standing. Gosh he's so handsome!



The Pinang Peranakan Mansion, typical of the home of an affluent Baba a century ago is re-created to allow visitors a glimpse of the opulent lifestyle, customs and traditions in those days.



The Traditional Main Hall has a fine set of formal mother-of-pearl furniture framed by exquisite carved wooden screens gilded in gold.





The wives of rich businessmen usually while away their time by playing mahjong at this mahjong table in the next room.



We became one of them.



Two of these mirros are placed directly opposite each other in the mahjong room. They're brought back from Italy (I think) and are called The Infinity Mirror because, well - you see infinity reflections when you look into it. Which is super cool if you ask me.



The mansion was built at the end of the 19th century by local history's famous personality, the Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee.



Though not a Baba himself, his Chinese courtyard mansion is reminiscence of a typical wealthy Baba house in eclectic style incorporating Chinese carved wooden panels, English floor tiles and Scottish ironworks.





They even had a grand piano!



Exquisite carvings in gold.



Having survived many decades of neglect, the mansion has now been fully restored to its former grandeur of a stately home.



Beautiful lantern :)



This green backyard brought back memories from TLN lol. :') I wanna watch that show again lah!





Over a thousand pieces of antiques and collectibles of this era are on display in this heritage mansion with its eclectic architecture.





The central courtyard with an open airwell leads to the Dining Hall with a "tok panjang" hosting festive occasions.



The entrance to the central courtyard.



To those of you who's a fan of TLN, I bet you can remember this place clearly XD



We proceeded up to the first floor.



This huuuuge and heavy chair is where people used to lie down and inhale opium during happy hour. Notice the "tool" for inhaling opium inside the box.







Some of you may remember this room where the "chor chor" (in TLN) was lying here sick :p On the bed, the dress of the bride and bridesmaid are displayed, complete with flowers.



Super old TV (not working anymore) :p



I think it's a radio. Those are golf sticks next to it.



Wah, old-fashioned potty.



Omg these are so cute! Bottles of perfumes and lotion and whatnot in all kinds of shapes and sizes. FYI, these are all brought back from different countries around the world.



Which is amazing! I mean, I don't think people do that now lol.



Suitcase/briefcase/luggage bags XD





Humongous grandfather's clock.



I'm delivering food to mummy. It's so heavy!



Those days, the women carried small purses (made of gold @.@) like these around. Definitely very opposite from the modern woman where she carries a huge handbag with wallet, phone, lipstick, tissue etc in it XD



To be continued in Part 2! :)