Colonial Charm of Albert Court Village Hotel

Albert Court Village Hotel reflects the dynamism of the growing arts sub-culture; and also echoes the vibrant atmosphere of Little India. On the fringe of the arts and cultural district, this charming boutique hotel comprises restored pre-war shop houses with Straits Chinese carvings and motifs. Access to the Central Business District and other parts of Singapore is minutes away – at the Little India MRT station – thanks to this hotel’s central location. A short walk away, the Singapore Art Museum, National Library, art schools and more cultural heritage beckon. The nearby Waterloo Street has the popular Goddess of Mercy temple rubbing shoulders with a Hindu temple and a church. Such are the unexpected neighbours you can find here – in Singapore’s multi-cultural enclaves.

More photos of Albert Court Village Hotel on Facebook

The hotel’s 210 rooms and suites offer all the modern amenities valued by today’s contemporary business and leisure travellers. Its Albert Café & Restaurant, Shish Mahal Restaurant and the cosy lobby bar lets you sample international cuisines as well as local favourites such as spicy curries and vegetarian choices from nearby Little India.

The published price for a vacation package at Albert Court Village Hotel is from $215++. SHIMWORLD readers enjoy a special 10% discount when making a reservation from this link (valid till December 31, 2012).

A Trishaw Ride to Singapore’s History by Debbie Too | The Brunei Times

The Brunei Times journalist, Debbie Too, is greeted and welcomed by hotel staff

A perfect crossing between old and new, our guestrooms and suites are housed in carefully refurbished pre-war shophouses that have been thoughtfully designed with handy conveniences for both the business and leisure traveller. | more rooms info

This is the actual room I stayed in for a night. The colonial style bedposts make this photo unique as you cannot find this on the hotel web page. I’m uncertain if this is a Deluxe room.

The colonial nostalgia of Albert Court Village Hotel’s architecture makes it a wedding solemnisation and banquet hotspot.

You can marvel at the hotel’s architecture left and right but don’t forget to look up – you may just be surprised as I was to find this Peranakan (Straits Chinese) style window panes.

Albert Café serves a delectable selection of local and international dishes throughout the day. The Straits Chinese architecture adds to the charm of this cosy café, which overlooks the Albert Court Village Hotel courtyard. Its décor also features intricately carved wooden furniture and distinctive water-colours of local flora and fauna, giving it the perfect ambience for leisurely meal.

Albert Café & Restaurant lets you sample international cuisines as well as local favourites such as spicy curries and vegetarian choices from nearby Little India.

Hotel guests have access to Apple iMacs — the contrast between cutting edge computer technology the hotel’s colonial architecture seems appropriately poetic.

The published price for a vacation package at Albert Court Village Hotel is from $215++. SHIMWORLD readers enjoy a special 10% discount when making a reservation from this link (valid till December 31, 2012).

Albert Court Village Hotel reflects the dynamism of the growing arts sub-culture; and also echoes the vibrant atmosphere of Little India. Well connected by the abundance of buses and two MRT stations (Little India and Bugis), one is only a 15-minute journey away from both the Central Business District and Orchard Road. A short walk away, the Singapore Art Museum, National Library, art schools and more cultural heritage beckon. The nearby Waterloo Street has the popular Goddess of Mercy temple rubbing shoulders with a Hindu temple and a church. See location map.

Culture@Village: Ride along distinctive local iconic landmarks such as the Mustafa Centre, Sungai Road Thieves’ Market, Sri Veeramakailamman Temple and not to mention, hidden gems along Arab Street that presents you a unique side of Singapore!

Catch a glimpse of the iconic Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple on the trishaw along Arab Street

One of my favourite trishaw moments returning to the hotel compound after a 30-mins round trip. Click on image to see more photographs from our tour de ride. Check out the other attractions around the hotel.

A Trishaw Ride to Singapore’s History by Debbie Too | The Brunei Times

Trishaw Tour Route  Albert Court Village Hotel > Short Street > Rochor Canel Road > Serangoon Road > Campbell Lane > Dunlop Street > Serangoon Road > Syed Alwi Road > Weld Road > Arab Street > Queen Street > Middle Road > Prinsep Street > McNally Street > Short Street > Albert Court Village Hotel

Kookaburra Restaurant & Gastrobar has a slew of impressive special mains such as Char-grilled Rump Steak, Kurobuta Rendang, Barbequed Kangaroo and Duck Leg & Goose Rillette amongst other rare treats. Each created specifically for the new outlet by resident Executive Chef Roland Graham, the menu at Kookaburra is a showcase of originality and uncompromising taste and quality. | More dining options.

More photos of Kookaburra’s amazing culinary creations | also on Facebook

Kurobuta Rendang – Kurobuta Pork Jowl slowly braised in herbs and spices toasted fresh coconut green bean sambal, sticky rice.

Fluffy Pancake Stack caramelized apples, crisp pork belly, swirled cinnamon rhubarb ice-cream.

THE OPULENT PINANG PERANAKAN MANSION: A GLIMPSE OF THE BABA-NYONYA CUSTOMS AND TRADITION

@temporary_local The "Pinang Peranakan Mansion" (yes, Pinang spelt with an "i") is my next blog post after I'm done with Cheong Fatt Tze!—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) August 31, 2011

The Peranakans, also known as the Babas and Nyonyas, was a prominent community of acculturated Chinese unique to this part of the world, especially in the Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca and Singapore) hence its other name, the Straits Chinese. Adopting selected ways of the local Malays and later, the colonial British, the Peranakans had created a unique lifestyle and customs which had not only left behind a rich legacy of antiques but its cultural influences like cuisine and language are still evident in Penang today | Pinang Peranakan Mansion

Working on Pinang Peranakan Mansion blog post before road trip to BSB with @Anthony_Er and @gavingohphot @ SHIMWORLD gowal.la/c/4QwKu—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 01, 2011

Visit my Facebook Page for more photos of the opulent Pinang Peranakan Mansion

At the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, the typical home of a rich Baba of a century ago is recreated to offer a glimpse of their opulent lifestyle and of their many customs and traditions. With over 1,000 pieces of antiques and collectibles of the era on display, this Baba-Nyonya museum is also housed in one of Penang’s heritage mansion of eclectic design and architecture.

The mansion belongs to Chung Keng Quee (Kapitan) from China who made his fortunes over here. Although he was an immigrant from China, he was greatly influence by the Straits Chinese (called the “Peranakan”) culture. He commissioned his stately mansion to be built incorporating the strong Peranakan architectural design. It was lavishly furbished with elegant ceramic floor tiles from England, beautiful iron casted art work from Scotland for the balconies and railings and elegant carved-wood panels and screen for the doors and walls from China.

In the western style formal dining hall is the grand long dining table (called “tok panjang”) where lavish feast are held for their guests. It is complemented with European designed side tables, hubs and wooden casing mirrors running the parameter of the hall. All the wooden furniture here made of teak wood.

Zatty carries on a conversation with our Penang guide sharing a marble table with a visitor who's perusing the Penang Traveller's Map for other hotspots.

The game room where popular card game Cherki is played using decks of 60 cards.

For more information on the Cherki card game, visit Peranakan Life

Architectures that feature an open air atrium with large skylight is far and few these days but something noticeably common in the early days where presumably there was no electricity or air conditioning. Today everybody prefers to A/C up their homes, darken their windows in favour of modern comforts.

A group of young visitors posing for a photo opportunity against the first floor railing. Smart use of natural light but I suspect the intensity may have exceeded the exposure control limits of their compact digital.

Brunei Times journalist Zatty (in red) is taking things easy. I recall it was a very hot afternoon and we may have just finished a hotel inspection prior to this stop.

Visit my Facebook Page for more photos of the opulent PINANG PERANAKAN MANSION

The upper floor showcase the family living hall, bedrooms, traditional bridal room with typical Nyonya matrimonial bed and sewing room. Here is where all the antiques are displayed including artistic brooches (“keronsang”), hair pins (“cuck sanggal”), metal belts, bracelets and other women accessories. Other interesting artefacts displayed are the huge vintage standing camera, an antique barber chair, Nyonya long blouses, embroideries and beaded shoes. | Penang State Tourism

The floors are connected by a grand and lovely stairs case with each step as wide as three feet in width. The balustrades guarding the stairs are decorative cast iron with the distinctive elegant European designed which came from the Macfarlanes foundry in Glasgow, Scotland.

I was brought to a secluded part of the Mansion and shown this intricate one-piece craftmanship.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion is truly built with a strong affluent of the Straits Chinese culture and symbolises the colourful legacy of the few rich Peranakan families in the past. It is now fully refurbished and restored to its former glory and is a showcase of the bygone days of this community lifestyle and their many customs and traditions. The beautiful mansion was one of the locations for the filming of the Little Nyonya, a 34 episode drama series by Singapore MediaCrop TV Channel 8. | Penang State Tourism

I posted 29 photos on Facebook in the album "THE OPULENT PINANG PERANAKAN MANSION" fb.me/1a4K5RrbE—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 01, 2011