Gedung Kuning

Gedung Kuning, also known as the Yellow Mansion or the Bendahara House, is a former Malay palace in Singapore. It is located within the Malay Heritage Centre, near Masjid Sultan in Kampong Glam. The palace, together with the adjacent Istana Kampong Glam, and compounds were refurbished as part of the development of the heritage centre in 2004.

History

Gedung Kuning was built around 1860. Tengku Mahmoud of Johor, Sultan Hussein Shah's grandson, once stayed in the palace for a short time. The house was sold after his death to Haji Yusoff Haji Mohamed Noor, a Malay entrepreneur and philanthropist in Singapore, in 1912. His family owned Gedung Kuning until 1999 when the mansion was acquired by the Singapore Government.

It is believed that the mansion was painted yellow to reflect its royal links as Malays consider yellow to be a royal colour. The building was gazetted for conservation in 1999 together with the Istana Kampong Glam.

Present

Today, the building has been restored and converted into a restaurant known as "Tepak Sireh", named after the traditional metal container for storing betel leaves used for chewing. The restaurant offers an authentic Malay dining experience, serving traditional Malay cuisine such as "nasi padang". It is also a venue for traditional Malay weddings, which come complete with royal , court dance and traditional Malay rites and costumes.

ee also

*Kampong Glam
*Istana Kampong Glam

References

*National Heritage Board (2006), "Discover Singapore - Heritage Trails", ISBN 981-05-6433-3
*Tommy Koh "et al." (2006), "", Editions Didier Millet and National Heritage Board, ISBN 981-4155-63-2

External links

* [http://www.gedungkuning.com/ Gedung Kuning website]
* [http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/what_to_see/museums/malay_heritage_centre.html Uniquely Singapore website]