[img_gallery][/img_gallery]
There’s a new heritage inn – Ren i Tang – in the heart of George Town’s Little India. But because of the building’s history, its vibe is more Chinese than Indian and its mission is to show that sustainable tourism, green principles, and conservation architecture can go hand in hand. Carolyn O’Donnell checked it out and found it truly benevolent.
From Medical Hall to Contemporary Bistro
There were cobwebs, dust, nesting rats and a strong smell of herbs. But for a conservation-minded quartet looking for history to rejuvenate, the oldest Chinese Medical Hall in Southeast Asia with its unpredictable labyrinth of passages and staircases offered exactly the space for which they were searching.
“When I saw it, I thought, ‘I really want this building’,” says Low Teng Lei, one of the four directors of Ren i Tang, which with its restaurant Bistro Tang is a distinctive addition to George Town’s growing selection of heritage boutique hotels.
Ren i Tang (pronounced ren eye tang) is the phonetic spelling in Mandarin of Yin Oi Tong, the name of the Chinese medicine business that was the building’s former tenant. Yin Oi Tong, which means The Hall of Benevolence, was established in 1796, founded by Koo Suk Chuan, a medicinepeddler immigrant from Canton. In 1885, the business moved from Pitt Street into the larger premises at 82A-C Lebuh Penang, serving the local community for 124 years as Little India expanded around it. The business had slowly declined to the point where most of the premises was being used as a warehouse, and closed in 2009. However a Chinese herbalist is on site daily once again, keeping that tradition alive.
In the shophouse tradition, business and eating is conducted downstairs, and upstairs is reserved for sleeping and hotel guests. Bistro Tang (closed Mondays) opens at 11.30am for lunch and also serves meals in the evening. The 17 individually configured rooms have ensuite bathrooms of varying sizes, wooden floor boards, shutters and enticing bed linen. Some have balconies, baths or exposed beams. Ren i Tang offers different experiences within the same property; rooms facing the street offer a vantage point for observing local life in the heritage core zone, those opening onto the courtyard or air wells are tranquilly private.
Sustainable and Responsible Tourism The hotel’s four directors are from Kuala Lumpur, where Ew Yeok Siew and Teng Lei ran travel agency journeymalaysia.com for more than a decade. The concept behind Ren i Tang came out of wanting to stay in tourism, but to create a venture using green principles that was a “natural progression”, and “show Malaysia in a different way”.
While researching for clients, Yeok says she saw “too much” culture, rainforest and architecture “sacrifi ced in the name of progress” and from this arose the desire to preserve part of Malaysia’s heritage and make it accessible. “What we wanted to do was something to reinstate some of the history,” Yeok explains.
Encouraged by George Town’s 2008 UNESCO listing, they were also impressed with Penang Heritage Trust’s conservation efforts and contacted Khoo Salma Nasution, the NGO’s president and local historian, for help. “I was very impressed with the fact that two young women who have a successful eco-travel business wanted to start a heritage hotel which would express their philosophy of sustainable responsible tourism,” says Salma.
Using Conservation Principles and Traditional Techniques Naturally the medical hall was dilapidated, but “it was a nice, sturdy building to work with,” observes Yeok. “We saw how it was and how we wanted it to be.” The project took three years, though the first 12 months largely consisted of gaining the trust of their landlords, the Cheah Kongsi, (the clanhouse for those of Cheah lineage).
Negotiating a lease required proposals, approvals, many meetings and “an interview with 17 Mr Cheahs.”
Undertaking the repairs was an educational process, Yeok says. The team collaborated with heritage watchdogs in Penang, “people who are passionate about their home”, and “learnt a lot about the old ways”, particularly how the building was cooled through air wells that worked on principles of convection, allowing hot air to rise. The roof needed urgent attention, and birds were displaced as rotting beams were replaced in the fi ve foot way. Stringent fire procedure measures were put in place. The team became experts at recycling, reclaiming discarded but useful items, even using the ends of pestles (once used for grinding with mortars) as shutter handles. Traditional limewash is used on the thick brick load-bearing walls and keeping the air wells open means the building is surprisingly cool and well ventilated. While guest rooms have ceiling fans and energy efficient air-conditioning, the ground floor – bistro, museum and seating areas – is open to natural breezes. The bistro opens directly onto Lebuh Penang: the original main entrance of Ren i Tang had been sealed for decades and was uncovered during the restoration process.
“I am delighted that they have restored the building using conservation principles and green materials, reusing most of the original materials and retaining as much of the place-memory as they could,”
Salma says. She also applauds allowing the previous tenant to return and practice his herbal craft in a shop space, “thus retaining George Town’s intangible heritage”.
Festivals and Food
During Deepavali the surrounding streets were full of lively stalls, coloured lights and a mixture of local families and tourists. For the Hindu festivities of Thaipusam, which falls on Friday, January 17, 2014, Ren i Tang will be in the middle of the action. “We’re expecting it to be wild,” says Yeok. “It will be exciting for guests to be here and observe it, although we expect it to be noisy.”
Bistro Tang serves an appealing mix of Asian and Western dishes; what Teng Lei describes as “comfort food for travellers”. Tang Laksa tends to divide Penangites (not hot enough) but it is made to a refreshing “family recipe” with lots of vegetables, ginger and herbs. Pasta with olive oil and chargrilled vegetables is richly garlicky, and the tender slow-cooked beef between homemade focaccia, unassumingly named Beef Brisket Sandwich, is deservedly popular. A craving for fish and chips should be satisfied by the beer-battered tilapia with crispy fries and tartar sauce.
Karen Choo, the manager, and Teng Lei have spent time in Melbourne observing its vibrant cafe culture and incorporated these influences into Bistro Tang. It has a bohemian atmosphere where quirky mix’n’match furniture refl ects the diverse clientele that wanders in for Italian lattes, a beer or a crème brulee.
Bringing the Past Back to Life The small, evolving museum contains equipment and traditional preparations the previous occupants left behind; shells and antlers used as ingredients, decades-old clippings from Hong Kong newspapers, and even a box containing the personal items of a former employee. There is also cosmetics history in the form of old lipstick paste – only available in one colour – which was moistened and applied to the lips by women in the early 1900s.The herbal tradition continues in the courtyard with fresh herbs. Featuring a long, groupfriendly table, the courtyard also houses the old wok that once cooked herbs.
Starting a new business, particularly one that required several years of commitment before opening its doors, can be draining. But the Ren i Tang team have enjoyed bringing the building back to life and establishing links with the local community. The old medical hall is now poised to greet the next few decades, to dispense uplifting nourishment both Chinese herbal-style, and as friendly Penang-style hospitality.
Rooms from RM180 a night including breakfast for two.
Ren i Tang
82-A Lebuh Penang (Penang Street)
10200 George Penang
Tel: +6 04 250 8383
Website: www.renitang.com
Source: Penang International December 2013/January 2014
Read more:
What are your thoughts on this article? Let us know by commenting below.No registration needed.
"ExpatGo welcomes and encourages comments, input, and divergent opinions. However, we kindly request that you use suitable language in your comments, and refrain from any sort of personal attack, hate speech, or disparaging rhetoric. Comments not in line with this are subject to removal from the site. "
