Peranakan Museum ; A Gem of a Museum Part II

Peranakan Museum at Armenian Street ; A Gem of a Museum Part I

The entrance of Peranakan Museum at Armenian Street 

       Last weekend, as I was out on an errand, I chanced upon the Peranakan Museum, which is located at Armenian Street, next to an open air carpark and after the Bible House on the left hand side. It is just before Timbre and the Substation, and the building was formerly the Tao Nan school and has been conserved for purposes in the public interest.

      Painted in azure blue, the museum houses 3 floors of Peranakan artifacts, mostly donated by Peranakans over the decades.The word Peranakan  means Straits born Chinese people, Straits meaning Straits of Malacca. The Peranakans first came over during the 17th century, mainly as odd job labourers and businessmen and settled here. The 'sons of the soil' or 'bumiputra' people are the indigenous Malay people hence the word Malay Archipelago where the island of Singapore is at the very bottom end of it. Some Chinese married the locals over the centuries, while others went back to China and brought back to Malaya and Singapore their wives and over the last 2 centuries developed their own Peranakan or Baba Chinese culture which was initially Chinese but infused with some Malay influences. 

Sarong Kebaya uniform of Singapore Airlines 

         Many dishes of the Peranakan Chinese are still around today, some famous ones are the Babi Ponteh (Pork curry), the Itek Tim (Duck vegetable soup) and Ayam Buak Keluak (Chicken masala curry with local spice nut). They are very tasty but extremely high in oil and animal fat. The entry fee for Singaporeans and PRs is S$ 4 while that for foreigners is $10.

The embroidery of the Peranakan Chinese is fascinating and can be seen by the painstaking efforts they use to embroider their sarong kebayas, tableclothes, wedding clothes, tea cosy and bed linen.

Ayam (chicken) Bua Keluak (the tamarind nut)  curry 

a side note ; the keluak black nut is naturally found in mangrove swamps of SE Asia. Its latin name is called Pangium Edule and the raw fruit is naturally poisonous, containing hydrogen cynaide inside it. it is rendered harmless and edible by steaming, boiling or fermentation. 

        The trademark Sarong Kebaya  worn by the Singapore girl air stewardess is inspired from the dress of the same name ! 

The building housing the museum once was the Tao Nan school which moved to the East Coast in 1982 

                                                              Wedding Bed 

        The museum is open for 7 days each week from 10 am - 7pm. Its well worth a visit and I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in Singapore's history, particularly of the local born Chinese to pay a visit. The above wedding chamber bed is made of 2 sections, one is the double bed, presumably for the couple to conceive and the outer bed is a single bed, presumably for the person to change up before he steps onto the ground.

        Peranakan weddings are an elaborate affair lasting up to 12 days (in the past). The customs of the Peranakans of yesteryear was that if the couple wanted to conceive a son, a rooster would pop up from under the bed (placed by anxious relatives of course!). If they wanted a girl then a hen would pop up !

       Imagine trying to have an intimate time with a rooster and hens underneath the bed !  

G.E.M. is the biggest star to emerge from China

        Born in Hong Kong and choosing to sing in Mandarin rather than Cantonese, GEM is currently embarking on a 100 cities tour of China. Nothing can stop this young lady from making it really big. She was a semifinalist in the 2nd edition of The Voice China. Her vocals are strong and she exudes a confident lady image, much like A Mei of the '90s.

Important Steps as to how to deal with WannyCry Ransom Ware

Shared by WSJ a few days ago from a friend, Kent Tan 

          My Outlook Express mail server every other day receives suspicious emails telling me that I've won the lottery, received Purchase Orders from hitherto unknown companies, payments from UK, requests for items to purchase again from unknown companies and bogus requests for quotes with zip attachments. I normally discard them and run the McAfee Scan just to be safe. 3 days ago the Ransomware virus affected many PCs worldwide and our 2 Universities  NUS and NTU were hit. It is a dangerous world we live in whereby there are scams abound at every innocuous email and requests for quotes. 

Just disable SMB to Prevent against WannaCry Attacks 

      This simple procedure should help you and your PCs to disable this virus once and for all. Lets never take web safety and people's sincerity for granted. There are many crooks out there together with the well meaning good people in society I am afraid.   

                Follow this 2 simple steps and save yourself a lot of trouble later on.  

Why I like Caps

On the Eurostar train from Gard du Nord to St Pancreas station

        I have in the last 2 years taken an interest in caps. Especially embriodered ones, which are of high quality and good fit. My favourite one which I really like is the F1 GP cap sold at $70 from the Fairmont Stamford. It is comfortable, provides long cover at the front, and grips my 'mango head' well (my parents were concerned with my mango shaped head when I was a toddler so much so they brought me to a General Practitioner to assess my head size back in the '60s !).   This cap fits my head well, and its embrodiery is top quality. On one side shows the Ferrari F1 car an the other some icons of Singapore like the Singapore Eye. 

        Stating the obvious, caps provide the required shade from the harsh sunlight. I notice that my eyes are getting more sensitive to the light, so sunglasses and caps are mandatory for me to prevent or slow down the growth of cataracts or other macular related diseases caused by excess glare.

My latest acquisition ; W for Wolves ! 

       I hope to increase the collection to about 10 but I will only go for only select ones with the right colour and message or logo. I do not get any endorsements from any cap or brand company so I had better choose the ones I identify with.  

My Favourite Cap 

The prerequisites for me if I am keen on a cap are :

a) It must fulfill the purpose of keeping the sun out ; hence the long overhang.

b) It ideally should be limited edition (like my Singapore F1 cap)

c) It should be embroidered

d) Colour should be strong and bold (red, white and even khaki are my favourites)

e) No brand visible if possible

f) It fits my 'mango head' to a 'T'. 

         

Sienchin - Shitoryu Kata ; Perfection

Remembering My Wonderful Mum Anna 1930 - 2011 ; Happy Mother's Day !

Mum in her cheongsam, or qipao 

          Today is Mother's Day ; the 2nd second Sunday each year, billions of people around the world remember their mothers and spend some time reflecting. My mother was a WONDERFUL MOTHER to me and my brother John. True, people can remarry and the children can have step mothers and the like. And some stepmothers do handle their motherly duties even better than their biological mothers. Born Anna Wen in Guangzhou, she was the eldest of 4 daughters of the late P.C. Wen. He was the stationmaster of Guangzhou train station and was a very talented individual. I only met and knew him fleetingly when he suffered a stroke and came to Singapore to stay in our house for 3 years before heading back to Hong Kong. My brother and I called him Ah Gong. 

Taken in 1957 

            Mum was a very hardworking young lady when she came to Singapore probably just after the 2nd World War. Singapore was just picking up the pieces after the Japanese Occupation and the Federation of Malayan States was formed in 1957. There were numerous political parties, the Workers Party, the People's Action Party and Singapore was also under the influence of the Communists through the Middle Schools and Unions. 

          During her school days, she was the Girl Guide Troop Leader in the early 50s after the 2nd world war and even walked Prince Philip (of Edinborough) around the Padang showing off her troop ! 

           Mum landed the job as the Personal Assistant to the Perm. Secretary for Health in the 1960s soon after I and my brother were born, and she kept at that job for over 40 years. A very people centric person, she managed our household keeping the finances well under control as she was very thrifty till the mid 90s, but she showered her love and resources to John and I.

         

At the Singapore Cricket Club 2010

         She went for her honeymoon with my Papa in Japan as well as Cashmir. After we were born, she was really involved in firstly her work, then after joining the Singapore Swimming Club in Dec 1974, the Club was here second home, and we all went to several Swimming Competitions (Sanya Samaki Cup) at each year end starting from 1975 (Bangkok and Penang), 1976 (Manila), 1977 (Thailand), 1978 (Indonesia). Those were halcyon days for my brother and me. I was an above average swimmer and nominated at Swim Captain for my House, and also the Boys Captain from 1977 to 1978. In 1979, during my first year at the JC, I captained the Barracuda  team to the swim championship within the club swimmers. A mean feat as I was the weakest 'strong' swimmer amongst the 4 captains ! 

On the swings in 1964 outside our house at 6 Adis Road

          Mum then devoted her time mainly participating in badminton, kong chian, tennis, squash, swimming jazz ballet etc. You name it, shw would have taken part in it. A true blue tryer !  

Mum with her Jazz Ballet 'Gang' 

         Well, to my Mum up in Heaven. Happy Mother's Day. Have Cake and Rest Well. 

         Much Love from your Son, May and the 2 grandsons.