Baba-Nonya Heritage Museum

Lonely Planet review

Touring this traditional Peranakan townhouse brings you back to a time when women hid behind elaborate partitions when guests dropped by, and every social situation had its specific location within the house. The captivating Baba-Nonya Heritage Museum is arranged to look like a typical 19th-century Baba-Nonya residence.

Furniture consists of Chinese hardwoods fashioned in a mixture of Chinese, Victorian and Dutch designs with mother-of-pearl inlay. Displays of 'Nonya ware', multicoloured ceramic designs from Jiāngxī and Guăngdōng provinces in China and made specifically for Straits Chinese, add to the presentation. The highlight is the tour guides, who tell tales of the past with a distinctly Peranakan sense of humour. The admission price includes a tour if there are enough people.