Kids!

"WAAAAA!" A baby yelled.

I looked up from my nasi lemak. At the next table a domestic maid was struggling with a child of about ... I don't know ... one year or below. The child was sitting on her lap and kicking up a storm. The maid was trying to contain his rage. His out-stretched hand was hurled at an older sister of about 5 who was seated next to the maid.

The sister's index finger was sliding this way and that across the surface of a mini IPad. Clearly, some form of rivalry was going on. The maid was at a loss.

The father looked back to see what the commotion was about. Then he walked to the cornflakes section where he filled up his bowl and topped it up with milk. He went to fetch his morning fruit juice.

The mother was walking towards the nasi lemak section on the buffet spread. On seeing the commotion, she walked back towards the child, reached into her handbag for her IPhone and handed it over to the maid.

The maid held the IPhone with her left hand, her right tightly clutched around the child's torso. The child swiped his index finger this way and that across the surface of his mother's phone.

Peace was restored. Each of us returned to our brekkie.

I'll leave you to come up with the moral of this story.

River Cruise, Melaka

• Duration : approx. 40 minutes
• Cost: $10 pax

Makko

We first heard about Makko some ten years ago ... or thereabout. It was the rage of its time so getting a table on subsequent visits became the priority. Unfortunately, Lady Luck would not smile on us so Makko kept its distance. Well, until recently.

It was a weekday and we were early. The restaurant was quiet but not for long. We were soon surrounded by the ever ravenous noon crowd. The first item I spotted on the menu was Inche Kabin. But let me tell you about Inche Kabin.

Some ten to twenty years ago, we found ourselves at the pre-launch tasting in a restaurant owned by a retired police chief. (He had since been gunned down by burglars who broke into his house late one night several years ago.) We were in snooty and affluent company so it was important to mind our "p"s and "q"s.

Inche Kabin

Doctors and surgeons were on the guest-list and they were cracking dumb lawyer jokes with a vengeance. At intervals, they spoke of their Sheffield days and Blackadder while we picked on our food and smiled politely.

The one thing in common they had was that all of them hailed from Penang. An active rally participant, Mr Hairy Face, (not his real name) was describing in vivid detail, the places he had explored and the eccentricities of its culture.

By and by, the topic returned to Penang. Mr Hairy Face pined for the Inche Kabin that he missed. What followed was a historical debate on the origin of Inche Kabin. There was much disagreement but they finally agreed that the dish was created some time after Captain Francis Light discovered Penang Island.  The wives who accompanied their husbands to these shores wanted their meat cut into inches instead of the larger chunks which was customary at the time. That was how Inche Kabin got its "Inche". As for the "Kabin", I'm afraid it was lost on me.

So what is Inche Kabin?

Inche Kabin is a Nyonya style fried chicken infused with rich spices, coconut milk and are deep fried twice

Turmeric Deep Fried Squid

Otak-Otak

Sambal belachan paku-pakis. This was the most delicious dish on the table.

Cendol

Makko, Melaka

Trouble with the liver

Remember the blood my GP took from my right leg? Well the blood test results were out a couple of weeks ago. I am slightly anemic but that's the least of my troubles. It's my liver. The liver enzymes were three times the normal rate. This meant that my liver is damaged. Tamoxifen is known to do that.

Whatever shall I do?

Peranakan Jewelry

Mr Peter Soon is a housing developer who collects antiques. Peranakan blood flowed on his maternal side. He kept these antiques at his residence until he acquired the Green Mansion in 2001 from the last of Kapitan Chung's descendant. It is at this mansion that he exhibited his collection.

In recent years, he became interested in Peranakan Jewelry. His collection culminated in the Straits Chinese Jewelry Museum. About two months ago, he started a new counter at the museum to sell at a reasonable price, pieces of Peranakan Jewelry to visitors. He wanted to make his collection available to the remnants of the Peranakan community. Sale was brisk. While we were there, two groups of Singaporeans appeared out of nowhere just to pick up more pieces.

During the colonial days, the affluent Peranakan community was well educated and prosperous. A bit of an exhibitionist, they acquired gold and diamonds to demonstrate their elevated status. When the Japanese came, the British fled. The Peranakans were left high and dry. They bore the brunt of Japanese attacks and were soon rendered destitute. That was when they started selling their jewelry pieces.

I am reminded of something an old friend told me. She came from a well-heeled family. About forty years ago, a nyonya used to collect jewelry pieces from the Peranakan community in a bundle and take them from house to house for resale to anyone who would have them.

Fire proof safes.

Chinese and Singhalese goldsmiths were usually summoned to the Peranakan's house where tools of the trade were available. The nyonya or her maid watched the goldsmith work to ensure that her jewels are not deviously replaced.

Jewelry Box

Hair pins. (See picture above) My favorite aunt told me a story I'll never forget about these pins. In days of old, copulation ties occasionally happened and when it did, the hair pin is used to stab the bottom end of the spinal cord to awaken the man. 

Here's another story I heard recently. Can't vouch for it so take it with a pinch of salt. After two Peranakan families decided on a suitable match, the boy spends the night in the girl's house. On the following day, the girl hopped over to the boy's house. If all is well, the boy now spends three nights in the girl's house and vice-versa. At this point, the rules of propriety are no longer observed. On the following morning, nasi lemak is served if the match is made. A Nyonya glutinous kueh served with grated coconut meant that the match had been broken. 

What followed the nasi lemak is a 12 day wedding celebration. The bridal chamber is in the bride's house and the groom is required to stay for 12 days following the wedding ceremony, at the end of which, the married couple returns to the groom's house. Baba weddings are usually matrilocal.

(More Pictures Below) - Pillow plates/belts/purses/anklets/etc. Silver jewelry are used during the mourning period.

Oh, and the answer is yes! So, what's the question?

Peranakan

Stories were told of Captain Francis Light shooting silver coins from his cannon towards the North Eastern part of Penang island in order to clear and populate the area. Locals hacked their way through dense jungle to retrieve the coins thus serving his purpose.

Archaeological discoveries of Chinese potteries suggested that Chinese seafarers began arriving at the Malay Peninsular from as early as the time of the Han Dynasty. (206 BC - AD 220) These seafarers were mostly merchants who stopped for trade and supplies. The Straits of Malacca was an ideal shelter while waiting for changes in the monsoon season. Some started spending more time on land to establish small businesses. In the absence of Chinese women, these men started setting up homes with local Malay girls. Islam was introduced to these shores only after the 13th century and polygamy was the norm. The seafarers typically had Chinese wives back home and others around the region, local wives to look after businesses in their absence.

Hang Li Po's entourage included 500 youths of noble birth who married the  non-Muslim locals. By the mid 15th century, most of the Malay population embraced Islam. By then, small communities of descendants from earlier Sino-Malay marriages were established. It is from this pool that newly arrived Chinese picked their wives. Subsequent marriages of their offspring within the community created the Peranakan Cina.

Source: The Pinang Peranakan Mansion by Chan Suan Choo

Hai Kee Chan

Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee was in his 70s when he started building his residence and office. He called it Hai Kee Chan. (Sea Remembrance Store) Today, it is called The Green Mansion.

The property occupied eight building lots of which one was the former headquarters of Ghee Hin Secret Society and another, a school. He acquired the former Ghee Hin Headquarters after the dissolution of the Ghee Hin Kongsi and moved the school to another location, all at his expense.

Central Courtyard

Above Central Courtyard

Dining (facing Central Courtyard and front of house)

Left Mirror to let the Kapitan (sitting at the head of the table) know who is approaching from his right or descending the stairs.  Left Mirror to let the Kapitan (sitting at the head of the table) know who is approaching from his right or descending the stairs.

Right mirror to let the Kapitan know who is approaching from the left.

Glass epergne for flowers and fruits

Carvings of lychee at the entrance to the Dining Area before the Central Courtyard. This is to remind the Kapitan of his homeland where lychees grew.

Opium Lounge

Function Room

Water receptacle outside the function room divided by a floor to ceiling glassed wall.

Waiting Area

Antique perambulator. Notice the gaping hole on the second picture? That's where they usually place blocks of ice to cool down the pram.

The Hai San Man

He came from a family of Hakka farmers. His father and brother sailed to the southern ocean (aka as Nanyang at the time) to seek their fortune. He was left behind to care for his mother and attend to the farm. The two who left did not return or send news of their whereabouts. Twenty year-old Chung Keng Kwee was asked to get married (wife to care for his mother) then sent to look for them. He went to Penang and later moved to the tin mines in Larut where he eventually caught up with the duo. 

The work force at the tin mines were controlled by secret societies like Hai San and Ghee Hin. He started his own mining business and was appointed leader of the Hai San Secret Society until it was disbanded. He was one of the signatories of the Pangkor Engagement 1874. (whatever that was.) He sat on the Perak State Council. 

A philanthropist and benefactor to many public cemeteries and temples, Kapitan Chung donated magnanimously to alleviate poverty, improve education and for disaster relief. For his humanitarian act, the Manchu Imperial Government conceded him the title of "Mandarin of the Second Rank". He was succeeded by his fourth son, the last Chinese Kapitan.

This son was reported to have built a mansion on a hillock at Gurney Drive with an extensive subterranean level under the sea where diners were able to see fishes swimming across the ceiling. Unfortunately, the mansion was demolished in the sixties to make way for a new condominium.

* One of his descendant (Owen Chung) was the bodyguard, University mate and personal friend of the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. 

To the left of Hai Kee Chan, Kapitan Chung built his ancestral temple. Off one of its wall, a secret door led to underground exits and compartments. The Man had many enemies.

A path to the left of this temple led to a well at the backyard where stories were told of captured triad enemies, beheaded and dropped into the well only to find their way out to the open sea. Similar stories were said to happen during the Japanese Occupation. (The well have since been filled.) The ancestral temple is now renamed Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee's Memorial Hall

Entrance to the ancestral temple. (Taken from the inside) Two doors and two thresholds. The outer threshold is higher than the inner. According to our guide (the foreigner), the higher threshold on the outer door prevents zombies from leaping into the temple, or out!

Lower threshold on inner door. This threshold (according to the guide) was placed here to ensure that anyone entering the temple  would first bow their heads in reverence. (You need to look down to see where your feet is taking you.)

Bats! (Behind the ancestral shrine) Bats! (Behind the ancestral shrine)

Bats featured prominently in this house as seen on the carvings on this chair.

The Green Mansion

The Green Mansion is a four in one museum:

1. Pinang Peranakan Mansion
2. The Straits Chinese Jewelry Museum
3. The Chung Keng Kwee Ancestral Temple
4. The Nyonya Kitchen

ADDRESS 29 Church Street
10200 Penang

VISITING HOURS
Daily
9-30 am - 5 pm
No guided tour
Admission $20/-
Birthdays, lunches, dinners, weddings, anniversaries, seminar, product launches etc
Managed by Pinang Peranakan Mansion Sdn Bhd (owned by Mr Peter Soon)

This century old stately mansion showcases the typical home of a rich Baba although its original owner wasn't one. It incorporates Chinese carved wood panels with English floor tiles and Scottish iron works.  Built at the end of the 19th century by Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee, the mansion was originally named "Hai Kee Chan" (Sea Remembrance Store) and was once his residence and office.

Today it's just called "The Green Mansion."

Its awkward, really. That guy on the left (picture above - the one with the yellow Chinese costume) gave us a guided tour. It's strange to hear him tell you all things Peranakan and Chinese when he spoke like a foreigner.

He is also quite the authority on the saucy intricacies behind closed bedroom doors and was eager to show us an ancient "contraption" which served this purpose. My Ma would have turned in her grave if she heard half the yarn he spun.

The mansion was used as a movie set for the following movies:

1. The Little Nyonya
2. Road to Dawn
3. Age of Flory II
4. The Iron Lady
5. Lust, Caution