Visit to the Peranakan Museum

I was never really interested in traditional culture, so i wasn't really expecting much from the Peranakan museum. I am not the kind of person who enjoys going to a museum, so I was not really looking forward to the visit to the Peranakan museum.

When i first stepped into the museum, I was quite skeptical of the amount of "artifacts" that the museum can hold as it was really a small building. I was taken aback after touring round the museum, there are really a lot of interesting "artifacts" in the museum! I did not expect such a small building to be able to store so many interesting items!

I always had the perception that Peranakans were those of marriages between a Chinese and a Malay, especially after the TV series -" The Little Nyonya". Now i finally understand that a Peranakan is someone who is of mixed origins, not only between Malay and Chinese, but Malay and Indian, Malay and Arabians.

I was really impressed by the diverse culture the Peranakans had. The Chinese Peranakan mostly followed the traditions of a normal Chinese, just that the Malay culture is also integrated into it.

I was really interested in the Peranakan food as i have eaten them before, and they were really delicious. There was this screen that showed us how to make the Babi Buah Keluak. After watching the short clip, i am really shocked to see that how tedious it is to prepare such a small dish. The man had to scrape the contents of the nut out, pound it, and put it back in. I wonder is there really a need to pound the flesh of the nut, would the taste of the dish be affected?

After this trip to the Peranakan museum, i have become much more interested in the Peranakan culture, especially their food. It is such a pity that the number of traditional Peranakans are dwindling day by day. The museum has really done a good job in preserving such a interesting and diverse culture. I really enjoyed the experience to the Peranakan museum.