Stangee - A type of incense made from aromatic wood used in Peranakan house

Otak Otak Blangah/Jantan

2007-06-16T11:14:00.000+08:00

To most people there is only one type of Otak Otak but to the Peranakans besides Otak Otak wrapped in banana leaves in the home there are different variations of this favourite food.

1) Otak Otak Puteh

Otak Otak Puteh is like the normal Otak Otak except that it is white in colour without any rempah - spice paste. The fish must be of excellent quality to make this.

2) Otak Otak Jantan/Blangah

The other version is simpler to cook using just the round flattish fish ball it is cooked in the same rempah - spice mix with coconut milk added. Why did one dish end up with two different names?

Well the term blangah means a indian clay pot and it is this pot that gives the name to the dish. As in those days earthen pots are use to cook coconut based dishes and for curries.

The other name has a more colourful origin the word Jantan in Malay means Male as the other version is wrapped in banana leaves this Otak Otak must be the male version as it is not wrapped and is terlanjang - naked.

There are many ways to prepare this dish Grill, Steam, Baked so what ever way is your favourite Cheers to Otak Otak....

Gambang Kromong

2007-03-16T21:52:00.000+08:00

What is Gambang Kromong? was the first thought that flash in my mind when knowledgeable peranakans introduce me to this form of music.

Gambang kromong refers to a type of ensemble, based in and around Jakarta, that combines Indonesian and Chinese instruments and styles. Its name derives from two of the instruments played: the gambang, a xylophone, and the kromong, a set of kettle-gongs on a rack. These are combined with instruments originating from China: a two-stringed fiddle and a side-blown flute. The remaining instruments in the core ensemble are percussion (hanging gongs, drums, and a set of clashing metal plates). Male and female singers, who sing lyrics in the popular Malay form of pantun, round out the ensemble. Western instruments may also be added, including electric guitars, trumpets, clarinets, saxophones, and electronic keyboards.

The music is performed and patronized by two groups who live in and around Jakarta (in Bekasi, northern Bogor, and Tangerang): Peranakan, people of mixed Chinese and Pribumi (native Indonesian) ancestry; and Betawi, who are considered Pribumi. Ensembles accompany male-female dancing at Peranakan weddings and other family celebrations. In this context, female dancers are hired as partners for men. Ensembles also accompany a form of popular theater called lenong.

Ethnomusicologist Philip Yampolsky has identified two repertoires that are part of modern performance practice: lagu lama, older songs oriented toward Chinese musical features; and lagu sayur, newer songs that tend to be based in Malay musical idioms. Lagu lama melodies were probably brought from the Fujian province of southern China to the Dutch colonial city of Batavia, presumably in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. At that time, gambang kromong groups played for private weddings and parties. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, as the music became part of a more public sphere, the instrumentation embraced Indonesian instruments, including drums, gongs, and kromong. The lagu sayur repertoire emerged at this time, and in the early twentieth century embraced popular songs in the region around Batavia. The music became even more hybrid in the 1920s and 1930s, as it blended with U.S. and European popular music and jazz. A genre called gambang moderen ("modern gambang [kromong]"), associated with the actor and popular music composer Benyamin S. (1939–1995), is an important marker of Betawi cultural identity in contemporary Indonesia.

More information:

Music of Indonesia, Vol. 3: Music from the Outskirts of Jakarta: Gambang Kromong

http://www.emusic.com/album/10864/10864499.html

Chap Goh Meh

2007-03-05T19:08:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the last day of Chinese New Year or as it has been called Chap Goh Meh in Hokkien. As usual we had our reunion dinner but this time it was done at my home and we had a Tok Panjang meal of gargantuan proportions.

My cousin Tachi Gek came with her family to join us this time round and we had a grand old time with mum telling us the traditions and pratices of the Peranakan community in the old days.

Mum told us stories before the Japanese war when her uncles would makan angin in thier kreta kuda - horse carriages and cars after dinner going round city centre.

The young nyonyas and bibiks acting as chaperone would have to wait for the next day Chap Lark Meh for thier turn. This would be the only time for the young ladies to venture out and be seen as in those days genteel young ladies are not allowed to go out in public.

We ended the night watching the Peranakan Association play Bibik Behind Bars...

Chicken Stew Recipe for Phebes

2007-02-28T22:49:00.000+08:00

A question posted by............

Phebes said......

Hey, I think this must be the chicken stew I remember eating as a little girl, with a dark coloured gravy and kayu manis, very wangi. I have tried and tried to find the recipe with no sucess. If you're feeling generous, please share!

Sorry for the long delay in replying to your request for Chicken Stew you would need the following ingredients.

Chicken - a whole chicken chopped and cut to 8 or 12 pieces
4 Local Potatoes - peeled and cut into pieces.
3 Carrots - peeled and cut into pieces.
3 Tomatoes - quartered
3 Bombay Onions or in our local term know as Bawang Benggala :-) - peeled and quartered.
1 can Button Mushrooms
6 Bawang Merah/ Shallots peeled and pounded.

Cooking Oil, Salt, Sugar, Pepper, Black Soya Sauce and Water

1 stick Kulit Kayu Manis/Cinnamon

Marinate Chicken with 1 tbs of Dark Soya Sauce, 1 tsp Pepper and leave it for an hour or more.

Heat a frying pan till hot add oil fry the potatoes till they are nice and crisp on the outside remove and drain on paper towels. Fry and sear the chicken till they are brown remove and drain on paper towels.

Heat a frying pan till very hot, add around 3 tbs oil. Add the Cinnamon stick stir fry for a short time, add the pounded shallots and contine to stir fry till it smells really good...add the chicken continue to fry...for a short while before adding the carrots, onions stir fry again for a short while...add your potatoes and button mushrooms pour water just enough to cover the ingredients..when the stew is cook add your tomatoes continue to cook till the tomatoes have soften but still retain thier shape.

Season with salt, pepper and if you want the stew to be thick you can mix courflour in a bowl with some water to a paste add this to your stew.

Happy tryin and do tell me the results...

Slamat Toan Baru

2007-02-19T09:52:00.000+08:00

Slamat Toan Baru to all Bibik Bibik, Encik Encik, Nyonya Nyonya and Baba Baba.
Boleh panjang panjang umor, untong untong, kuat kuat.

Objects & Desire

2007-02-14T22:17:00.000+08:00

NX Gallery

Objects & Desire

31 January to 30 April 2007

In conjunction with the launch of NUS’ Baba House at the end of 2007, Objects & Desire is a conceptual visual art project challenging eight international talents to present works inspired by the Straits Chinese lifestyle.

The recurring theme in this exhibition of works plays with the notion of site, community and experience, interpreting the creators’ experiences with the Baba House or the Peranakan culture, and delivered in the form of photography, installation, video, product design, interactive sound and food, these works tantalise our senses and demonstrate the creativity of the young talents.

The artists are Victoria Cattoni (Australia), Bettina Johae (Germany), Andrea Teo, Khoo Eng Tat (Malaysia), Mauricio Alejo (Mexico), Adrian Chua, Choy Ka Fai (Singapore) and Fal Allen (United States of America).

Programmes in conjunction with
Objects & Desire

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interactive Media Workshop with Choy Ka Fai and Khoo Eng Tat

Saturday, 17 March 2007
3.00 to 6.00pm
Celadon Room, NUS Museum
Free
Artist Choy Ka Fai and student Khoo Eng Tat from NUS Mixed Reality Lab share with the audience their collaborative effort and the processes in making art.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brew Appreciation and Food Pairing with Fal Allen

Saturday, 10 March 2007
3.00 to 5.00pm
ST Lee Atrium, NUS Museum
$20 per participant

Brewed and crafted in Singapore, Archipelago handcrafted beers are created in small, unpasteurised batches to obtain the freshest beers that perfectly complement the region’s food cuisine. The range of Archipelago craft beers combine the credibility of western brewing techniques with Asian ingredients such as lemon grass, tamarind and gula melaka to create what is arguably the first Asian conceptualized craft beer with Asian characteristics.

Come join the brewmaster Fal Allen for a session of Archipelago beer appreciation and food pairing experience.

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Artist Workshop with Victoria Cattoni
Nyonya's kebaya, Baba's desire, 2007

Workshop 1 @ NX Gallery, NUS Museum
Saturday, 3 March 2007
1:00 – 3:00pm
Workshop 2 @ Your MOTHER Gallery, 91A Hindoo Road
Sunday, 4 March 2007
10:00 am to 12:00 noon and 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Free

Cattoni’s work is developed through a series of interactive video workshops. She investigates the public's responses to Kebaya, the fashionable blouse worn by Peranakan women. Nyonya’s kebaya, Baba’s desire is a new component of an extended 'kebaya' research that began in Indonesia in 2002. Challenging common cultural misconceptions, using the language of clothing to stimulate dialogue as part of her research, each new work is developed contextually – socially, geographically and spatially within its particular site. The most recent version of the project Nyonya's kebaya, Baba's desire at NUS, is developed in both Penang and Singapore.
Public interested to meet Victoria Cattoni and be part of the process of Nyonya's kebaya, Baba's desire is encouraged to visit workshop/s during the allocated time.

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Talks by Mauricio Alejo (Mexico) and Bettina Johae (Germany)

Saturday, 20 January 2007
1.00 to 3.00pm
Celadon Room, NUS Museum
Free

Mauricio Alejo shares his investigation into home objects and their forms. His intuitive decisions in producing photographs and videos aim to resonate with the body, our memories and daily life experiences. Alejo looks beyond the daily encounter to find something exceptional, and his visuals created are symbolic references of his enjoyment in the ‘set’ or ‘the photographer’s frame’ through daily life.

German architect and artist Bettina Johae shares her investigation on subjects/theme through the use of mapping ideas, performance and documentation of changes in life and cultural activities. She had recently participated in CONFLUX: the annual NYC festival
for contemporary psychogeography where international artists, technologists, urban adventurers and the public put investigations of everyday city life into practice on the streets.

Ways Of The Matriach : A Very Nyonya New Year

2007-01-24T17:24:00.000+08:00

The series Ways Of The Matriach : A Very Nyonya New Year first episode will be shown at Arts Central on 7/02/07 Wednesday at 9.30pm.

Watch out for the episodes updates here.

Ways Of The Matriach: A Very Nyonya New Year

2007-01-17T16:27:00.000+08:00

Shirley Tay and cast return with a new series Ways Of The Matriach: A Very Nyonya New Year. Most of the filming is already completed with only a few more cutaway scences left to be filmed.

The series will be shown on Arts Central on February 9, So do watch and see how we Peranakans sambot Toan Baru with our customs.

The Straits Chinese House

2007-01-10T08:28:00.000+08:00

The reprint edition of The Straits Chines House is finally out at the bookshops.

Dr Lim Boon Keng

2007-01-03T15:50:00.000+08:00

The National Library will be holding an exhibition and a talk on Dr Lim Boon Keng. A prominent pioneer of Singapore and one of the most influential men in Singapore's history. He epitomized the Peranakan heritage and led the way for many social and educational reforms to take place. 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr Lim Boon Keng’s death.

Lim Boon Keng: A Life to Remember

An exhibition on the life and times of the Singapore pioneer
By Settlement of Dr Lim Boon Keng (1921), National Library Board and Singapore Heritage Society

Venue: Level 9 Promenade
Date: 24 January - 18 March 2007

Dr Lim Boon Keng was a phenomenon. He was a polymath the likes of which Singapore has never seen and is unlikely to see again. A brilliant scholar, Lim won a Queen's Scholarship to study medicine at Edinburgh University. During his long and eventful life, Lim was medical doctor, legislator, scholar, educator, entrepreneur, community leader, social reformer and philanthropist.

A powerful orator and a prolific writer, Lim led various moral, social and educational reforms and contributed immensely to the welfare of the Straits Chinese community. Among other things, he initiated rubber-planting in Malaya and founded of several banks and other companies. Lim promoted the learning of Mandarin and was responsible for the revival of Confucianism in Malaya. Founder of the Singapore Chinese Girls' School, he also became President of the Amoy (Xiamen) University in China.

This exhibition held in conjunction with the launch of the reprint of Dr Lim's seminal work, The Chinese Crisis from Within, commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr Lim's death in January 1907. Son of Singapore, citizen of the world, Dr Lim Boon Keng, a life to remember

Other Highlights

Lim Boon Keng One Voice on the life and times of Dr Lim Boon Keng and a musical performance put together by Stella Kon, the great-granddaughter of Dr Lim.

Excerpts from One Voice: A musical performance
(Limited to 40 participants)

Date: Wed 24 January 2007
Time: 7.30 - 8.15pm
Venue: Possibility Room, National Library Building
Program Details
Admission is FREE but registration is required. Interested parties to register via email at: nlprogrammes@nlb.gov.sg and to include 'Lim Boon Keng One Voice" in the subject field.

Heritage Trail: A special bus tour to places related to Dr Lim Boon Keng
(Limited to 15 participants)

Date: Thursday 25 January 2007
Time: 9am - 5pm (registration is at 8.45am)
Venue: Pick-up & Drop-off at the Lobby, National Library Building
Program Details
The tour costs S$10 (including lunch). Registration is required and interested parties can register via email at: nlprogrammes@nlb.gov.sg and include “Lim Boon Keng bus tour" in the subject field

'Lim Boon Keng and the Straits Chinese: A Historical Re-appraisal'
Organised by the National University of Singapore History Department and supported by the National Library Board

Date: Saturday, 27 January 2007
Time: 9am - 5pm (Registration starts at 8.30am)
Venue: Possibility Room, National Library Building
Program Details
Please register before 22 January 2007, by emailing nlprogrammes@nlb.gov.sg. Registration is free and includes breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. Places are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

For information about the conference programme and speakers, please log on to: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/hist/doc/lbkconf.pdf

The Boon Keng Pavilion at Xiamen University: History Recovered, Nanyang Link Reconnected
Speaker: A/P Lee Guan Kin (Division of Chinese, Nanyang Technological University)

Date: Saturday, 27 January 2007
Time: 5pm - 6pm
Venue: Possibility Room, National Library Buidling
Program Details
Please register before 22 January 2007, by emailing nlprogrammes@nlb.gov.sg.

Mama Rosa VCD

2006-12-10T21:57:00.000+08:00

Gunong Sayang Association production of MAMA ROSA is finally out on VCD. You can get the disc from Katong Antique House at East Coast Road and from Gunong Sayang club house at Lorong 50 24A Geylang Road.

Baba Wedding

2006-11-19T13:32:00.000+08:00

On 12/11/06 we stage a Baba wedding procession for the World Lottery Association at the Raffles Convention Hall.

The bride and groom

The whole cast....

Our lovely ladies in thier baju panjang, sarong kebayas.....posing :-)

Baba Dictionary

2006-11-19T08:26:00.000+08:00

" Apa Khabair ? "

Finally at last we have a dictionary.

Thanks to author William Gwee Thian Hock for his painstaking hard work and all kind souls who help in one way or other. The Peranakan Assocition for coming up with the initial financial cotribution to kick start the project.

You can find the dictionary at the local bookshops titled A Baba Malay Dictionary - The First Comprehensive Compenduim of Straits Chinese Terms and Expressions.

So to all Peranakans and Non Peranakans who love our culture get a copy and lets start to cakap cakap Baba Malay.

Mum's Satay Ayam

2006-11-10T14:09:00.000+08:00

This is another Loak Embok Embok - Satay Ayam you can either use Pork or Chicken. Mum would add Doan Limau Perot...makin the dish smell heavenly.........

You would just need chilli, lemon grass, shallots, shrimp paste, candlenuts for the rempah. Pound them to a paste startin with the hard ingredients. Add peanut oil to the kwali sampay panas (till its hot) throw in a bruise lemon grass and add the rempah and tumis (saute) till it "pecah minyak".

Once the rempah is ready add your pork and chicken continue to tumis. Add doan limau perot. Pour 1/2 a cup of chicken/meat stock and continue to tumis. Season with salt to your taste.

This dish actually uses coconut milk but for health reasons mum omitted. Happy Tryin

Mama Rosa

2006-09-13T14:13:00.000+08:00

This year Gunung Sayang presents its twentieh production titled "Mama Rosa". The play will be staged on the 13 and 14 October at The Victoria Theatre tickets are available at Sistic outlets.

Bibik Soon Neo, a widow and grandmother, sheds her old image and adopts a modern lifestyle, calling herself Mama Rosa as she favors to be known. But the name "Rosa" can be punted as "Rosak" meaning "Spoil".

Her daughter, Theresa, and daughter-in-law, Lilian, both being conservatively natured, frown upon Mama Rosa's new lifestyle. Whereas, her son Bernard particularly, and son-in-law, Robert, accommodate and revel her new image, with granddaughters, Margaret and Barbara, adding further spice to domestic bantering. Alls well that ends well, as Mama Rosa's "mysterious lover" turns out to be a former neighbourhood friend's youngest son, who at her joyous Peranakan style birthday celebration, is revealed as courting her granddaughter, Margaret.

Comfort Food - Chicken Stew

2006-07-10T13:06:00.000+08:00

Chicken Stew - This is a family favourite and the recipe has been handed down by my Grandmother to my Mother and to me.

Long Forgotten Food 3 - Lepat Kacang

2006-06-28T20:56:00.000+08:00

What is Lepat Kacang? In the just published book " A Baba Malay Dictionary" by William Gwee Thian Hock.
He defines it as a glutinous rice and soya bean cooked in a leaf packet. To me this is a simple kueh using readily available ingredients (glutinous rice, soya beans and grated coconut).

The Nyonya version of Lepat Kacang comes wrap in triangular packets using Doan Nipah (Attap Leaves) and is only made subject to the availability of the leaves. Sadly the Nyonya Lepat Kacang is very hard to come by here in Singapore.

I would have to wait for my supply from Malacca to enjoy this old forgotten kueh.....

Long Forgotten Food 2 - Ikan Kekek

2006-04-18T09:37:00.000+08:00

Why all the fuss for Ikan Kekek? Firstly it was nostalgia and memories of comfort food brought about by tete a tete with fellow Babas and Nyonyas. So to the local wet markets, I went searching for Ikan Kekek. In Ang Mo Kio the fish stall holders told me "Must Order" but they were not able to assure me when they will be able to get the fish. In Chong Pang the stall holder wife told me "Why do you want this fish, no one wants to eat it to little meat and lots of bones" A thought came to my mind- have we be come so affluent that we do not eat such fish any more? Is that why there is no supply as there is no demand for this fish or could it be due to all the land reclamation, over fishing???

What do you cook Ikan Kekek with? Well you cook it with a rempah mixture of lengkuas (Blue Ginger), kunyit(Tumeric), bawang merah(Shallots), fresh red chillies and belachan (Shrimp Paste) which makes Kuah Pedas Nanas (Spicy Pineapple Gravy) The rempah is boil with water or stock with the pineapple and season with salt and sugar. Add the fish when you are ready to EAT and boil till it is cooked.

Guess i will have to continue searching and maybe be lucky one day or not sing the old children song Ikan Kekek and dream of silvery fishes....

Ikan kekek Mak Iloi, Iloi
Ikan gelama Mak Iloi, Iloi
Mari adik Mak Iloi, Iloi
Menyanyi sama Mak Iloi, Iloi
Ada satu si ikan parang
Badannya banyak berbelang
Isi sikit, banyak tulang
Sedap di makan, masak panggang

Ikan Kekek - Common Pony Fish - Leiognathus equulus

Ikan Kekek is silvery with a brown saddle on the caudal peduncle. It has faint bars on the back and sometimes a dark blotch on the forehead. The anal fin is yellowish.

Like all species in the genus Leiognathus, it can extend its mouth into a downward pointing tube. This species grows to 25cm in length.

It if found in estuarine and coastal waters. It is also found in muddy river mouths and sometimes ascends into freshwaters. When freshly caught it exudes lots of slime.

Long Forgotten Food 1 - Sayur Bermis

2006-04-17T15:41:00.000+08:00

Sayur Bermis was once regarded as a peasant vegetable and eaten by Nyonyas in the '60s. It is difficult, but not impossible, to find sayur bermis (duckweed), a dao miao lookalike, except it's rougher and crunchier.

How to cook your Sayur Bermis you can fry it with Sambal Belachan or Rempah Titek.

During my last trip to Malacca. I came back with 12 bundles. After giving away six bundles to relatives and friends ...Boy oh Boy did i really have my fill of Sayur Bermis. Come to think of it when will the next trip be???

Tauhu Masak Titek

2005-11-04T13:37:00.000+08:00

This is one of my favourite comfort food. There are two variations of this dish one using Tauhu (Soft Bean Curd) the other Buah Paya Masak Titek which is actually unripe papaya. Sadly the latter dish is fast disappearing due to changing tastebuds ?? in the younger generation.

Tauhu Masak Titek cooked the way of our ancestors have meat balls in them. Some Nyonyas instead use minced prawns and pork balls in thier recipe.

My grandmother style of Tauhu Masak Titek the prawns are kept whole and minced pork are made into pork balls. Tauhu Masak Titek is best eaten with steamed white rice and sambal belachan.

:-) Wicked....

Peranakan Festival 2005 - Raising The Phoenix

2005-11-01T16:50:00.000+08:00

The Peranakan Association will be holding its first Peranakan Festival starting from 18 - 27 November 2005 at Millenia Walk.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS GRAND OPENING 18 November 2005, 6 - 8pm
Watch performances by Gunong Sayang, the Dendang Irama band and the Peranakan Voices, followed by a reception for invited guests.

THE PERANAKAN FAIR @ MILLENIA WALK 18 November 2005, 6 - 8pm
In many ways the heart of the Festival, this promises to be a colourful cornucopia of Peranakan music, fashion shows and performances all set against the background of our now well-established Craft and Food Fair, which comprises 30 stalls selling Peranakan food and bric-a-brac.

Exhibition

1. Information panels will highlight the characteristics and achievements of the Peranakan community. Visitors can experience the vision, philanthropy and ideals of the Baba pioneers, which continues alive and vibrant to this day.

2. A display of items that define the culture and aesthetics of the Peranakans. Clearly evident will be the passion for excellence and quality, a unique sense of colour, and a preference for an eclectic art form, incorporating elements of European, Chinese, Indian and Malay design.

Performances

Throughout the event, the public will experience an array of music Peranakans enjoy including Keronchong (from Indonesia), joget / rongeng/dondang sayang (from Malaysia) and golden oldies from the 1930s thru 50s along with a selection of newly-composed Peranakan melodies.

A fashion show featuring modern interpretations of batik wear from top Malaysian designers will be held on the 21st of November, in conjunction with the launch of a coffee-table book, "Batik Inspirations - featuring top batik designers". The forward-looking book boldly essays a blueprint for melding tradition and post-modernism through the lens of a new generation of batik fashion.

Peranakan skits aim to highlight the lifestyle and traditions of the Peranakan lifestyle. A wedding procession typical of a traditional Peranakan Wedding will be staged.

Food & Craft Fair

12 food stalls and 12 craft stalls will be set up at Millenia Walk. The food stalls (open from 18-26 November) will cover a range of popular Peranakan cuisine, including popiah, kueh pai tee, buah keluak, nonya mee, mee siam, and desserts such as kueh lapis, pineapple tarts and many other treats to tempt tastebuds..

The crafts on sale include intricate Peranakan jewellery replicas in gold and silver, kebayas, old batiks, porcelain ware and wooden carvings. Also present will be artists offering their interpretations of Peranakan material culture, or neo-Peranakan objects d'art.

Fringe Activities

BABA BAZAAR @ OG 18 - 27 November 2005

OG celebrates Peranakan culture with 10 food and craft stalls at Orchard Point, together with an array of Peranakan fashion for sale.

BABA CONVENTION

18th BABA CONVENTION: RAISING THE PHOENIX 24 - 26 November 2005 RELC International Hotel

Seminars featuring leading authorities on the culture will explore its preservation and revival.

105th ANNIVERSARY, ANNUAL DINNER AND DANCE 25 November 2005 The Neptune

This year's Dinner & Dance is themed Baba Las Vegas. Join in and play Baba Roulette, Cheeky Cherki, Bibik's Mahjong, 21 and many more. This promises to be a night of sheer revelry and extravagant entertainment.

FOOD GALORE AT HOTELS 18 - 27 November 2005

Hotel Phoenix and Furama Hotel will feature Peranakan cuisine and special events throughout the Festival period.

Peranakan Food Fair at Phoenix Hotel
Home-cooked Food style of Peranakan dishes like Ayam Buah Keluak,Ikan Pari Kuah Lada, Babi Ayam Pongtay,Udang Goreng Asam etc Look out for the PRESS for the Activities like Cooking Classes,Bunga Rampay Demo,Beaded Slippers Demo etc.....and stalls selling Spices, Kueh-Kueh,Sauces,Kebayas,Kerosangs etc

Party like a Peranakan! 27 November 2005 Asian Civilisation Museum, Armenian Street

The Museum will host several activities. A workshop for children to impart the skills of making selected Peranakan crafts will be held. Visitors to the Museum can watch an interactive play devised by members of the Peranakan Association's cultural group and students and also dress up in Peranakan wear for a fun polaroid. Stalls selling food and Peranakan bric-a-brac will also be set up. Enjoy choral performances by The Peranakan Association and Gunong Sayang. Finally, partake in an appreciation high tea at 4pm and mingle with everyone involved in the Festival.

Theatre

A TWIST OF FATE Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre From 18 November 2005 Esplanade Theatre

This highly successful Peranakan murder mystery production by the Singapore Repertory Theatre returns to the stage! Enjoy an evening filled with comedy and suspense - wonderful entertainment for the whole family. For more information, please visit us at http://www.srt.com.sg/

In Memory of Datin Seri Paduka Endon Mahmood

2005-10-20T11:33:00.000+08:00

Today Malaysia loses her First Lady Datin Seri Paduka Endon Mahmood her demise will be a great loss to the local Malaysian arts and culture scene.

Datin with her passion for local handicrafts and traditions, has taken it upon herself to revitalise pride in Malaysian crafts, both locally and internationally.

http://www.batikguild.com/main.php

She launched the Nyonya Kebaya - A Showcase exhibit in Kuala Lumpur in 2003. It was her hope that the exhibition and book will raise the awareness of the unique aspects of the cultural heritage of the Peranakans and inspire Malaysian designers and artist.

Currently her collection is on loan to The Asian Civilisation Museum (Singapore) from 9/3/2004 to 29/5/2005.

DATIN also wrote a book The Nyonya Kebaya: Century of Straits Chinese Costume

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's wife, whom he described as his No. 1 supporter, died Thursday after a nearly four-year battle with breast cancer. She was 64.

Endon Mahmood's death -- which comes less than two months after she and Abdullah marked their 40th wedding anniversary -- is the biggest personal blow to the Malaysian leader since he took office in October 2003 following the retirement of his predecessor, longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad.

Endon, who recently underwent months of intensive chemotherapy in Los Angeles, passed away at the family's official residence Thursday morning in Putrajaya, Malaysia's administrative capital, after being released from a Malaysian hospital Monday, said Abdullah's spokeswoman, Esuriyanti Ahmad.

"The family members were at her side, everybody was there," Esuriyanti said, adding that Endon would be buried in a traditional Muslim funeral later Thursday.

Abdullah, Malaysia's fifth prime minister since the country achieved independence from Britain in 1957, had been married to Endon since September 4, 1965. They have a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.

Abdullah has often publicly called Endon his "No. 1 supporter."

When his mother died of natural causes in February 2004, Abdullah telephoned Endon in the United States, where she was undergoing treatment. She later told reporters that he said: "I've lost my mother and I don't want to lose you too."

Endon discovered she had breast cancer in 2002 following a checkup after her twin sister, Noraini, was earlier diagnosed with the disease.

Tan Cheng Lock Baba House

2005-10-10T21:10:00.000+08:00

When I saw this report in The Straits Times on Saturday 8/10/2005. I was so happy as this is something that will take Peranakan culture out of the museum if the initial plans are follow through.

$5.5 million (Singapore Dollars) was given to NUS(National University of Singapore) but with an unusual request that the money is use to acquire Peranakan homes in Singapore and Malacca.

This request came from the last surviving daughter of the late Tun Tan Cheng Lock founder of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). Miss Agnes Tan who is 85 years old asked that NUS acquire a Peranakan house at Neil Road and two more houses at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock in Malacca.

The house in Singapore will be used to teach young Singaporean about Peranakan history, culture and tradition and will be named the Tan Cheng Lock Baba House while the other two houses in Malacca costing S$1.5 million will be restored and use for to study subjects such as the conservation techniques of historical bulidings.

The house acquired at Neil Road belongs is one of the last remaining authentic homes which belong to a Peranakan Wee Lin an engineer whose ancestor is Wee Bin who was a shipping tycoon. Plans include having a Bibik impersonator as a live-in housekeeper and also into making the house a centre for exhibitions, talks and performances and to include the Wee family history.

The Peranakan Experience: A Singapore Story

2005-09-19T13:49:00.000+08:00

In 2003 the inaugural lecture for the Lien Fung’s Colloquium - Chakap Chakap lah :-) was held at the Singapore Management University visit the link to see, hear all about The Peranakan Experience.

You can hear old and new Malay/Peranakan/English songs like Tanjong Katong, Rasa Sayang, Chan Mali Chan, Burong Kakak Tua, Su Suay Kemuning, Aiyoh Mama, Oleh Oleh Bandung, Nyonya Nyonya, Nyonya Pakey Bunga, Nyonya Manis and many more which are old favourites of the Peranakans.

http://www.smu.edu.sg/oaa/events_031128.asp

Wayang Peranakan

2005-09-09T09:09:00.000+08:00

Wayang Peranakan started from the influence of the Malay Bangsawan (Malay Opera) trying to ascertain the time period as to when it all started would be difficult. Bangsawan rose to popularity in the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca & Penang) , Malaya (Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) from the 1880's (Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera by Tan Sooi Beng - Oxford Unversity Press, 1993) As the Peranakans enjoy watching the Bangsawan naturally given time they adapted it and started producing thier very own Wayang Peranakan.

Wayang Yap Chow Thong and Opera Stamboul could have been the earliest owned Chinese bangsawan troupes as press advertisements were found in the local papers Straits Echo as far back as May 1904.

With its popularity many groups were formed such as the Wales Minstrels Party, Merrilads Musical Party(1930's), Oleh Oleh Party (Jan 1932), and Kumpulan Peranakan Singapura, staging musical shows, music, song, dance and drama became a part of our vibrant culture.

The themes of the wayang centre around the family. Domestic squabbles, matriarchal domination and young love which are spun in a web of intrigue with surprising twists and turns of the plot, and finally concluding with a happy ending. Using local humour and the quick wit of the performers injecting comedy and drama, the Peranakan stories and characters often mirror and amplified the real life off stage. Tidak Berdosa, Rusia, Kaseh Ibu Tiri, Nyai Dasima, and Naseb Si Buta are some of the popular old plays.

By the 1960's all this came to an end there was almost a 20 years wait until Felix Chia's Pileh Menantu (Choosing a Daughter in law) was staged in 1984 for the Arts Festival. With its sucess a new spark of life was given to Wayang Peranakan. And from then on Gunung Sayang Association produce a play each year.

In 2001 in celebration of its 100th Anniversary the Peranakan Association presents Dah Sa Chupak Tak Boleh Sa Gantang. In 2002 a totally new style of Wayang Peranakan was produced by the Association titled Bibik Behind Bars (All about Bibiks and thier foundness of playing Cherki).The play was even recorded and telecast on TV at Arts Central Channel. In its resounding sucess Bibiks Goes Broadway was produce.

In 2005 The Main Wayang Company was founded and it makes its debut performance Bibiks In Parliament and in October 2005 they will will be staging Bibik Chari Menan 2. Main Wayang also produce Music CD's and VCD's of thier past productions.

Past Plays by Gunung Sayang Association (VCD's of past productions available for sale)

1985 - Buang Keroh Pungot Jernih (Let Bygones Be Bygones)

1986 - Lepas Jambatan Buang Tongkat (The Ingrate)

1986 - Menyasal (Regrets)

1987 - Zaman Sekarang (Times Have Changed)

1989 - Biji Mata Mak (Apple Of His Mother Eyes)

1990 - Tak Sangkah (Unexpected)

1990 - Sudah Di Janji (Fated)

1992 - Nasib (Fate)

1993 - Salah Sangkah (Misunderstood)

1995 - Manis Manis Pait (Bitter Sweet Memories)

1996 - Kalau Jodoh Tak Mana Lari (Destiny of Love)

1997 - Bulan Pernama (An Auspicious Full Moon)

1999 - Janji Perot (Pre-Birth Pact)

2000 - Cheh It Chap Goh (Every Cloud Has A Sliver Lining)

2001 - Hujan Balek Ka Langit (The Impossible)

2002 - Anak Udang Anak Tenggiri (Blood Is Thicker Than Water)

2003 - Kipas Cendana (The Sandalwood Fan)

2004 - Buang Keroh Pungot Jernih (Let Bygones Be Bygones)

2005 - Belom Mati Belom Tau (The Unpredictable)

Belom Mati Belom Tau - Gunung Sayang Association Wayang Peranakan 2005

2005-09-08T12:28:00.000+08:00

Belom Mati Belom Tau

Its the time of the year again when Gunung Sayang Association produce its annual Wayang Peranakan stage at The Victoria Theatre this year production titled Belom Mati Belom Tau.The playwright GT Lye will provide the audience with a glimpse into a typical Peranakan household of the 60s. Also anthroplology affcionados will get a glimpse how Peranakans of the old days mourn their love ones, along with the fashion and culture of their time.

The poster of the play shows a black and white sarong worn during mourning periods also pearl kerosangs and silver chocok sanggul (chignon hair pins).

Press Review for Belom Mati Belom Tau

A Peranakan's progress Veteran playwright passes on customs of his culture in his latest play

By Hong Xinyi

PLAYWRIGHT G.T. Lye finds himself getting nostalgic each time the annual drama production put on by Peranakan association Gunong Sayang comes around in September. After all, the stage is about the only place where Peranakan culture is the most vibrant these days, says the renowned female impersonator. For the past 20 years, the 67-year-old has been directing and scripting this annual event, as well as acting in it, for Gunong Sayang. Founded in 1910 to promote Peranakan, or Straits Chinese, culture, the association has put on a Peranakan production every year since 1985.

This year, Lye, a retired businessman, wrote a play titled Belom Mati Belom Tau (You Wouldn't Know Because You're Not Dying). Set in 1960s Singapore, it tells the story of a sickly Peranakan matriarch and her scheming family. Lye, who is also the director, plays the role of the matriarch's eldest daughter-in-law, who tries to hoard the family's wealth. The two-hour-long play will include scenes where the Peranakan rituals of mourning are re-enacted for the audience.

''Peranakan women wear attire of different colours for different phases of the mourning period,'' he elaborates. ''They are also not allowed to wear gold jewellery, and they can't attend weddings, birthdays or any joyous occasion.''

His exhaustive attention to such details is a rarity in the Peranakan community these days.''The younger generation also finds practices like ancestral worship too tedious and time-consuming,'' Lye says, with a tinge of wistfulness in his soft voice. He tries to keep Peranakan culture alive by including such rituals in his plays, and also by ''creating stories where I can educate the younger generation, and remind the older generation of things they have forgotten''.

For Belom Mati Belom Tau, his message, not surprisingly, is the value of filial piety. But in the field of female impersonation, at least, the bachelor need not be worried. Kelvin Tan, a Peranakan, has been learning the ropes from Lye for the past three years, and the latter pronounces the 36-year-old quite a competent successor. ''It was rather rough in the beginning to get the hand movements and way of speaking right,'' says Tan, a civil servant. But what keeps him going, he says, is his fascination with the play's recreation of a 1960s Peranakan lifestyle. ''It gives me a chance to experience an era I never had a chance to live in,' says Tan.'' It's really an eye-opening experience, and it gives all of us from the younger generation a lot of pleasure.

Traditional Nyonya Curry Chicken with Homemade Curry Powder

2005-06-03T08:23:00.000+08:00

Here in Singapore every race (Malay, Indian, Chinese, Eurasians and Peranakan) have thier different versions of Curry Chicken. Each with slight differences in the cooking method and ingredients use but no matter what we always start with the basic rempah paste of shallots, garlic and ginger.

Traditionally each Nyonya household have thier own recipe for home-made Curry Powder. Due to the change in life style and the demands of modern life most households have resorted to commercially produce Curry Powder.

The home cooked version of the Nyonya Curry has the addtional ingredients of hard boiled eggs. So if you are invited to share a meal in a Peranakan home do not be surprise if you find eggs in the curry.

Tengkats aka Mangkok Tengkats

2005-04-15T08:33:00.000+08:00

The word Tengkats or Mangkok Tengkats mean Tiffin Carriers.

The word tiffin means Lunch, or any light meal.Tiffin is a word that perhaps more than any other evokes British India. It entered the language at the very beginning of the nineteenth century, perhaps because the fashion for eating dinner mid-afternoon was giving way to a main meal taken later in the day, requiring a lighter midday meal and a name for it. Why the much older luncheon or lunch wasn't used isn't clear. Instead, the English in India borrowed tiffing, an old English dialect or slang word for taking a little drink or sip.

The use of Tiffin Carriers is still very much alive in its traditional heartland of India. Lunches are still cooked at home by workers’ wives and then transported, often by train, perhaps 20 or 30 miles to their places of work by tiffin-wallahs, each three-tiered tiffin-carrier probably passing through several hands in a highly sophisticated and efficient cooperative process.

The use of tiffin carriers spread down to South East Asia. They come in all sorts Kow Tik - Enamel type ones embellished with flowers and some even with words wishing the recipents Happy Feasting on it, but the most unwieldy and unpractical table-ware made to Straits Chinese specifications is the Porcelain Tengkats. The tengkat dishes (usually four) are stack one over the other, they are so loosely fitted that a slight tilt will send them and thier contents tumbling down imagine the difficulty of transporting food. I was told that to help in the transportation some of the older tengkats have two circular wooden boards, one on top of the other and held by three post, one of which is detachable so that the tengkat can be fitted into the carrier. To facilitate carrying a brass or iron handle in fitted on the top of the wooden board.

Now if only i can get to see one of those carriers and dine using one of the tengkats :-)

Rose Pink Tengkat

2005-04-14T18:38:00.000+08:00

Rose Pink Tengkat consisting of four tiered dishes with a slightly domed cover. The design consist of trailing branches of peonies is typical of Peranakan taste come from Tung Chih period

Perot Rumah 2

2005-03-02T10:48:00.000+08:00

In the kitchen there will be three stone implements. They are used for the grinding and pounding of ingredients before the arrival of electrical appliances.

Batu Giling - Grinder

Batu Lesong - Motar and Pestle

Batu Boh - Mill

The pots and pans of the day would be eatherware objects which included water jugs, belangahs - Indian style pots use for cooking curries. Utensils use for cooking would be made from coconut shells.

"Cooking was done over a concrete fireplace using firewood for fuel. When one tried to get the fire going by blowing through a foot-long, hollow, iron pipe, the ashes would fly into one's face and hair. It was hot, perspiring work. Common utensils used were the kuali or curved frying pan, and the belanga for cooking curry, besides the usual metal pots and pans these utensils were always black with soot and smoke from the firewood"
Rainbow Around My Shoulder - Ruth Ho

Another item found is the Nyiru - Bamboo Trays of varied sizes and shapes. This trays are use to sun-dry spices as well as vegetables, keropok - fish crackers, belachan - shrimp paste and other items.

Rice is stored in a tempayan - glazed earthenware jar while sugar, salt, kapor are kept in small porcelain containers.

Another indispensable tool would be the Parutan Kelapa - Coconut Grinder and in some households there would even be a ice cream maker.

Perot Rumah 1

2005-01-27T09:20:00.000+08:00

The kitchen is the centre of household life and activity in a Baba house the matriach of the house and the womanfolk would gather here to prepare food and even entertain relatives and friends. That is why the Baba akin the kitchen as the Perot Rumah or The stomach of the house.

" My grandmother's friends never had to venture beyond the comforting embrace of the kitchen when visiting her. It is from here that my grandmother entertained traders, family friends and relatives as the the mistress of the house" Lim Kean Siew, The Eye Over the Golden Sands - Pelanduk Publications

In the days before refrigeration, live fowls were kept in cages in the backyard. Food had to be stored away from ants and cockroaches, so a long hook will hang from the ceiling and on this hook a small wooden box enmeshed with fly screen doors was suspended. The meat storage boxes were later replaced by tall almari cupboards with fly screen doors. The four high legs of the almari stood in small bowls made of ceramic which were filled with water to deter ants.

Cooking was done on long brick stoves with several holes over which the cooking pots were placed. The fuel source would be firewood in the early days, charcoal was only available later.

The furniture would be a square or long wooden table with long bangku (benches) for preparing food as well as for the servants dining.

Wooden drying racks hung on the walls were use to store the many tools required for food preparation.

Loak Embok Embok - Nyonya Cuisine

2005-01-12T13:29:00.000+08:00

The correct term to describe Peranakan food - Is Nyonya Food or Loak Embok Embok. Why ??? It is because the food is cooked by Nyonyas..but now with more Babas stepping into the kitchen this may not be so.

In the old days the Nyonyas view cooking as an accomplishment to be proud of, daughters were trained in the art of cooking at an early age.

In her book Mrs Lee Chin Koon recollect....

"We were taught to sew and to perform domestic duties expected of us as Peranakan daughter-in laws. Most important of all, we were taught to cook well. We would start by doing simple things around the kitchen like peeling shallots (bawang merah). Even that can be considered an art, as we had to learn to peel the shallots without shedding tears. We were taught to peel the shallots at an arm's length so that the wind would blow the shallot juices away from our eyes.

Matchmakers played an important role in those days. They would call at 10 o' clock in the morning. That was the time when we all prepared our rempah (pounded ingredients), and they could tell by the sound of the mortar and pestle if there were good cooks in the house. There should be a rhythm to the pounding. From the sound of the pounding, we can tell which ingredient is being pounded and also whether the person who is pounding is an experienced cook.

Our Nyonya food is so complicated that it takes years to learn and master. We had to learn to pound our rempah to just the right texture, we had to learn to fry garlic until it was golden brown, light and crispy, we had to learn to combine and measure our spices so that they would harmonize, and we had to learn how to fry our dishes so that the gravies would be clear and bright, not dull, in colour. All these require training, experience and skill. In those days, we didn't use recipes and measurements such as tablespoons, and everything was done by agak (estimation). Everything had to be learned by watching and practice."

Babas, Nyonya, Straits Born

2004-12-20T09:55:00.000+08:00

Straits Chinese, Straits Born, Baba and Peranakan are terms used interchangeably by the people and by people describing them.

Straits Born, Straits Chinese - was the term used for the people born in the Straits Settlement comprising of Penang, Malacca and Singapore.

Baba - The word is of Indian origin and was brought to the Malay Peninsula when the East India company extended its influence from India to Malacca. In Northern India the term Baba is a general title of respect. In time the word came to refer primarily to the Straits Chinese male.

Nyonya - The term Nyonya for Straits Chinese woman is less exclusive as it its been use to apply to the woman of Sumatra and Java. The term actually is the Malay form of address for non-malay married ladies of standing in the community.

Peranakan???

2004-12-17T13:42:00.000+08:00

Who are the Peranakans?

The term Peranakan in Malay simply means born locally.

The origin of the community can be trace to the arrival of Ming princess Hang Li Poh to Malacca (a state in present day Malaysia) who married Sultan Mansur Shah (1446 -59) as recorded in The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals). The princess brought along with her 500 youths who settled in the city. This formed the first Chinese community whose graves can be still seen at Bukit Cheena (China Hill).

By the 15 Century, Chinese male migrants started arriving from Fukien province to Malacca which in those days was a thriving cosmopolitan trading centre. On arriving they found a small thriving community. The migrants set up trading posts. They would leave China following the Northeast monsoon winds at the end of the year and only sailed back in the middle of the year following the Southwest monsoon. After a while some of them took to setting up second homes in Malacca, marrying the local woman. The male offsprings were sent back to China for education while the daughters remain in Malacca.

In trying to trace the ancestry records of prominent Peranakans families we find that the search end up cold in Malacca to the 17 to 18 Century. Records show that the first migrant patriach of the family married a local born Chinese woman. Can this be a link to the small thriving community?