Tradition and modernity meet on the rattan goods store's signboard, featuring its name in bold red Chinese characters and its Romanised name in black lettering (All photos: Low Yen Ying/The Edge)
If you wander along Beach Street in George Town, you may stumble across a quaint shophouse nestled between two taller buildings, its doorway flanked by columns of rattan baskets stacked high alongside rows of chairs and folding screens. Inside, bird cages hang from the ceiling, while shelves of toys, storage boxes and bags line the walls. The Chinese characters “Xiang Xin Long” are displayed in bold red brushstroke font across the white exterior’s signboard, following the traditional right-to-left reading order. Just below, the store’s more recognisable Romanised name, Seang Hin Leong, appears in black lettering.
Founded in 1957, this old-school rattan shop has been the livelihood of the Sim family, who emigrated from Guangdong, China, in the early 1900s. The business has been passed down through the decades, and is now managed by fourth-generation siblings Sim Chew Po and Sim Jeck Choo. Long-time customers, however, are likely more familiar with their father and previous owner Sim Buck Teik — one of Penang’s last surviving rattan weavers until his passing last year.
Born locally in 1929, the late Buck Teik moved back to China for education at the age of seven before returning to Malaya in 1948. He reunited with his father, who had been running the first outlet under the name of “Xiang Xin” on Penang Road. The year of his homecoming, Buck Teik devoted himself to mastering the craft, helping his family open their now-renowned Beach Street location, which he eventually took over. Before his children inherited the business, customers often saw him at the back of the shop, carefully preparing tall stalks of rattan or working on a half-finished project with his weathered yet nimble fingers.
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In the business’s heyday, most products were made by hand in-store, using rattan sourced from Johor and Pahang. Suppliers delivered them in bundles, with the skin peeled and stems boiled in oil to preserve the material. Using heating and water soaking techniques to make the shoots more malleable, the weaver decided how to split and shape them. In recognition of Buck Teik’s meticulous craftsmanship, the enterprise was awarded Living Heritage of Penang status by the Penang Heritage Trust in 2009.
Over time, most of the shop’s offerings have come to be produced by other companies. Its current keepers, always happy to answer questions about the products and space — even for window shoppers — preserve Seang Hin Leong’s heritage by hosting regular weaving workshops. These serve as a reminder of this increasingly endangered trade and the state’s legacy as a vibrant centre for arts and crafts.
393 Lebuh Pantai, George Town. Open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6 pm. Closed on Sunday
This article first appeared in issue No. 116, Summer 2025 of Haven.
