Katong

On this weekend, we visited a neighborhood that we rarely get to. Katong is one of the more ethnically interesting neighborhoods with a great mix of people, food, and street level action. We sought out the Katong Antique House, one of two homes in Singapore committed to the preservation of Peranakan culture, the descendants of Chinese traders and South East Asian natives. Unfortunately, even though we spent an hour in the foyer or front room of the home, we never made it any further into the home to see the real collection of Peranakan artifacts and treasures. The proprietor of the collection, Mr. Peter Wee, has been collecting Peranakan treasures for more than 40 years and takes his role as gatekeeper to Peranakan culture very seriously. After several hints that only the truly curious can proceed further and that research must precede entrance, I spent 45 minutes browsing his mini-library, and read in entirety a book he wrote on Peranakan cultural heritage in Singapore. Meanwhile, Ash and the boys were completely oblivious to the game of chess being played out by myself and Mr. Wee. They waited patiently but had no idea what he whispered to me in hushed tones every time he swept through the room and hovered above my shoulder for a moment or two. Despite my efforts, we were not invited to proceed further and left disappointed that our interest in learning a little more about Peranakan culture was stifled by this man's over-bearing judgement and need to filter the worthy from the unworthy. Luckily, there's a lot more to do in this area. We visited the best tiny Indian restaurant we've yet found in Singapore but haven't been back to since last summer. We made it to the rooftop water park at 122 Katong and, finally, down to East Coast Park, too.  We had so much fun we didn't home until 10:30 p.m. that night, which isn't considered late for Singaporean families, but was late for us and well worth all the fun we had.  

Read more about Mr. Peter Wee at: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/fashion/collected-treasures-from-peranakan-culture-0