via Bangkok Post, 19 July 2024: The Chinese Peranakan communities in Southeast Asia, such as those in Penang, Malacca, and Phuket, demonstrate the positive outcomes of cultural assimilation. These communities, descendants of early Chinese immigrants who integrated with local populations, preserve a unique blend of traditions and cuisines, reflecting the benefits of cultural fusion.
For visitors from Malaysia and Singapore, Phuket Old Town looks very much like home with its rows of shophouses and townhouses that feature the “five-foot way”, the street-facing, sheltered walkway essential for the tropical climate of Southeast Asia, and ubiquitous in the two countries.
Also familiar is Phuket’s Chinese Peranakan, or Baba Nyonya, cuisine, albeit with a touch of southern Thailand. We had a few delicious Baba Nyonya meals at a couple of beautifully appointed restaurants, the highlight of which was moo hong, a soy-sauce-braised pork belly dish that is similar, if not identical, to Singapore and Malaysia’s babi pongteh.
For many, Singapore, Malacca and Penang, the main constituents of the former British colony of the Straits Settlements, are the centres of Chinese Peranakan communities, the descendants of early Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia who assimilated – through intermarriage or acculturation – with the local population.
Source: Chinese Peranakans in Southeast Asia are proof there can be gains amid cultural loss
