A Warm Welcome at Peninsula House
Wunderwall Design has transformed an abandoned pre-war building into Peninsula House restaurant in Penang, where grand original features combine with antique furniture, natural materials and plenty of charm
Every Penangite knows India House. The iconic building was completed in 1937 and stands on Beach Street in Penang’s George Town, an Indian Art Deco structure renowned for housing the United States Information Service library from the 1950s to 1970s. It eventually fell into disrepair and stayed vacant for over 30 years.
But the winds of change began to blow when Miles Teow, Shi Hong Lee, Yaw Tzong Tan and Guan Hong Lim banded together to set up Norm, a cafe and roastery, next door. The venue was an overnight triumph and, buoyed by the success of Norm, the team opened a modern Australian restaurant in India House. ‘It took us many years before we figured out how to build something special in this massive space’ says Teow. ‘Peninsula House is a labour of love.’
Given the building’s prominent location but enigmatic history, Kuala Lumpur-based interior design studio Wunderwall Design sought to create a sense of mystery from the onset. The restaurant’s street-level entrance bears no signage, with only ambient lighting and atmospheric music suggesting there’s something beyond the facade. Walking up the turret staircase, guests are met with hanging sculptural ferns sheathed in smoke in the reception area.
The designers also set the restaurant entrance at an angle to heighten the sense of anticipation. Guests walk through a dim, narrow corridor that opens onto Peninsula House’s high-ceilinged dining room. ‘By building a column on one side and introducing linen drapes on the other, we created a “tunnel” to extend the drama,’ says Wunderwall co-founder Wil Ken Ee.
While Peninsula House may be a fine-casual restaurant, it’s designed to feel like a second home. ‘We wanted a convivial space where diners feel connected to one another,’ says Teow. Wunderwall achieved this by opening up the kitchen and breaking up the expansive 550-square-metre floor plate into different zones: dark-stained wood for the bar, round tables for the main dining room and a raised platform that offers guests a unique vantage point.
Peninsula House hums with an honesty that comes from the natural materials and pared-down furniture and fixtures, such as austere globular pendants, light bulbs with exposed piping and streamlined standing candlesticks. Though simplified, there’s no lack of character in the space, which aptly sets the stage for the food and hospitality to shine through.
Small yet considered gestures make big impressions at every turn. Carefully sourced second-hand furniture adds to the lived-in feel, like the jewellery display cabinet turned dining table or the science laboratory desk that’s now a service console. Another highlight is the custom steel-framed sliding doors in front of the original double-leaf balcony openings.
It seems that Teow’s longstanding vision has come to pass. Here, guests are in good spirits and it’s clear that the lonely building has, at last, found a new lease of life, with interiors that match up to its stunning exterior.
Text by Joseph Koh
Images by Weng Jen
