The Intan

Some museums have a gift shop. This one has a man who lives there.

The Intan is for small groups and curious couples who want Peranakan history told by a person rather than a placard. It is a private museum in a Joo Chiat terrace house where the owner, Alvin Yapp, still lives, and a visit means antique chairs, tea in old porcelain and Yapp explaining what you are looking at. The catch is that it is his home, so there are no drop-ins: book a tea session or a tour before you go anywhere near Joo Chiat Terrace.

Why it’s different

Most museums keep the past behind glass. Here you sit on it. There is no signage, no glass case and no audio guide; more than 5,000 pieces sit where they would be used in a family home of the kind Yapp’s grandparents might have known. Look out for beaded slippers, mother-of-pearl chairs, a planter’s chair and a wedding bed over a century old, carved with peonies and phoenixes. Upstairs are wedding pieces, clothes and jewellery, and photography there is not allowed.

The collection started with a tiffin carrier. As a teenager Yapp found an enamel one painted pink and blue with flowers in an old Katong shop, and kept going. He has said he grew up when being Peranakan was looked down on, and that a Peranakan play he could barely follow pushed him to learn more. He bought this house, founded The Intan in 2010 (the name is Malay for a rose-cut diamond) and never set out to run a museum: friends asked to visit, then schools, then companies.

It runs without government or corporate funding, with Yapp as the only full-time staff, and won Best Tour Experience at the 2016 Singapore Tourism Awards. It has even turned up in a Singapore Airlines safety video, which is more than most museums can say.

How to do it well

Book through the-intan.com. The Intan Tea Experience runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with a Saturday morning session too, and Yapp also offers private dining, beading and other hands-on sessions; confirm the format and price when you book. Take your shoes off at the door, as you would in any home, and leave time for questions. The best of the visit is the conversation, and he sometimes plays the piano if time allows.

As Yapp told The Peak in 2025, “you can Google history, but you can’t Google feelings.” It suits anyone who found the Peranakan Museum lovely but a bit tidy. Eunos is the nearest MRT station. Ask about the tiffin carrier.

Good to know 69 Joo Chiat Terrace; Eunos is the nearest MRT station. Visits are strictly by appointment; enquire through the-intan.com. Tea session times are in the facts box. Prices and session types vary, so confirm them when you book.

The Intan | 69 Joo Chiat Terrace, Singapore 427231 | Nearest MRT: Eunos