Standing at the bustling corner of Clemenceau Avenue and Penang Road, you would most probably have passed by the House Of Tan Yeok Nee many times. If you have ever peered at the walls of the National Monument from the outside and wondered what it is like inside, you can now pay the Teochew mansion a visit as it is open to the public.
House Of Tan Yeok Nee: A Historical and Architectural Jewel
The House Of Tan Yeok Nee is a stately mansion that was built in the late 19th century. Over the years and decades, it has gone through different eras – changing from a personal mansion to a home for girls to the home of institutions.
The mansion was purchased by the Karim Family Foundation in 2022 and has been painstakingly restored. It houses the offices for the Karim group of companies but also has a heritage gallery that is open to the public.
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Originally built between 1882 and 1885, the mansion belonged to Teochew merchant Tan Yeok Nee who came to Singapore in the 1840s. He made his fortunes in Johore in the pepper, gambier and opium trade. The house was one of the four Great Mansions built by wealthy Teochew merchants in Singapore.
At the start of the 1900s, the mansion was acquired and was used by the station master of the nearby Tank Road station till 1905. In 1907, it was transferred to the Anglican Church to be used as St Mary’s Home and School for Eurasian Girls, which was an orphanage.
The Salvation Army took over the building in 1938 and use it as the organisation’s Singapore headquarters till 1991, with the exception of the war years when the Japanese army used it as part of its headquarters.
Ownership of the house then passed through several hands. Notably, it was the the Asian campus for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Amity Global Institute till recently.
Stepping Inside the House Of Tan Yeok Nee
Now owned by the Karim group, the House Of Tan Yeok Nee has been made open to the public.
Walking up the steps to the Teochew mansion, you will be greeted by the impressively ornate stucco work that decorates the front of the building.
Looking up, you can admire the human figures, leaning forward, looking down at you. Interestingly, they were fashioned to have bigger-than-proportionate heads to adjust for the perspective of the viewer on the ground.
And you can also see the characters 资政第 “Zi Zheng Di”, signifying that the house was the residence of a Qing Dynasty Second Ranked Official.
Stepping over the threshold and into the mansion proper, you will be greeted by wooden panels embossed with gold leaf.
Behind the panels is one of the courtyards of the house. This front section of the house was the public space where visitors would have been received.
At the courtyard, look up at the roof to admire the intricate Teochew ceramic artwork.
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Around the courtyard, there are rooms that can be used to host events.
Heritage Gallery
To the left of the courtyard, you can step into the Heritage Gallery. This air-conditioned space has several rooms.
You can watch a video that provides a look at the thinking and process behind the restoration of the mansion.
In an adjacent room, you can get close up look at the building’s intricate details.
There are information panels on the wall where you can learn more about the various phases that the mansion went through.
Currently, there is also an exhibition ongoing that features the work of Tan Ngiap Heng, the great-great-grandson of Tan Yeok Nee.
Visiting the Mansion
When you are done viewing the heritage gallery, you can step back outside and also take a walk to the back courtyard, an area that would have once been the private section or residential area of the house.
There will also be a restaurant housed within the House of Tan Yeok Nee. Loca Niru is a contemporary fine dining restaurant. Described as a modern Japanese French restaurant, Loca Niru fuses French techniques with Japanese ingredients.
On the weekend of 1 and 2 November 2025, the House of Tan Yeok Nee is holding an open house from 10 am to 7 pm with guided tours, a mini Teochew Food Festival and photography exhibition by the Teochew Sim Clan.
Planning a visit? From 6 November 2025 onwards, the heritage gallery will be open to the public from Tuesday to Saturday, 6 pm to 11 pm
