Oh, time flies. It really does. The last time I visited the Peranakan Museum was more than 15 years ago. I even have a blog post to prove it!
A Street Transformed
Little did I know that this was a once‑a‑year event. Along Armenian Street this year, it felt like a full‑blown party. There were booths for food and games, an outdoor stage outside the museum, and — coinciding with it all — Mediacorp’s promotion of the television drama Aunty Lee’s Deadly Delights.
Huh?
Yes. I hadn’t heard of the series either. Apparently, someone mentioned it might run for up to 90 episodes. For the record, the show premiered in January 2026 and runs for 23 episodes. She could be joking.
The main cast was present at the event, meeting and greeting fans. My partner and I also joined in — not because we are fans, but because we needed a stamp to complete the event’s bingo card. Three stamps earned us yummy snacks — local desserts and fried treats. Six stamps got us a cutlery and drink holder set. Nine stamps earned us a handheld fan and a sticker sheet!
Museum Insights and Ticket Prices
We bought an all-access pass that included special exhibitions. Inflation is real. Fifteen years ago (and according to my old blog post), it was about $3; now it is $6. Imagine 15 years from now — everything doubled again. Do you still think you have enough to retire?
While I could complain about the price hike all day long — like good Singaporeans do — looking back at my old post and photos, I genuinely think the museum’s collection has improved. It is well worth the price. There is an amazing collection of Peranakan clothes, furniture, paintings, accessories, and pottery.
Poetry and Personal Comforts
Besides the games, food, performances, and exhibitions, we also placed an order for a hand‑typed Peranakan poem. Typed on a typewriter! That felt wonderfully old‑school. We waited a long, long time for ours to be completed, along with traditional Chinese seals — but it was worth it.
To personalise the poem, I had to draw a slip of paper. On it was a question:
“What comforts you?”
Such a simple question. In hindsight, I could have given a cheeky answer. But somehow, in the context of Peranakan culture, my immediate thought was food. So I went with that. The poem came in both Malay and Chinese. Both versions tickled my mind and made me smile.
The event started at five in the afternoon. We stayed until closing at ten. I had a really good time. I am glad my partner dragged me there — I had been grumpy and sleepy at first. By the end of the night, I was energised. I even thought of coming back the next day.
No, we did not.
Crime‑Solving and Blind Boxes
Now, back to the casting tie‑in for Aunty Lee’s Deadly Delights. In line with Singapore’s recent blind‑box craze, one of the games involved entering a room to solve two crime cases using the evidence provided. We were each given a small card and had to answer three questions.
In other countries, I imagine that for a family‑friendly event the questions would be simple.
But no.
Here in Singapore, everything is hardcore.
There were articles to read. Entire walls of text to analyse. And everyone was so serious! I couldn’t even peek at others’ answers (the tiny card didn’t help either).
Wow. So competitive.
Fortunately, we bumped into a kind auntie who gave us hints. While I was slightly frustrated that she didn’t make them more obvious — and instead bombarded us with more questions, like a teacher — we eventually got everything correct.
We earned our blind boxes.
But here’s the twist: the young staff member collecting our answer cards didn’t seem to check our answers closely before handing us the reward. The funny thing is — and perhaps everyone in the room thought the same — I genuinely believed the blind boxes were only given for correct answers. Had I known, I might have scribbled something more fun.
Something like… what comforts me is food.