A Japanese Love Affair with Penang

THE FUMAKILLA TAUKEH is the owner of this house,” my mother quipped as my father snailed the car past Villa Primavera, a mansion located at Jesselton Heights, also known as the Beverly Hills of Penang. We ogled for a few moments—the pupils of my 10-year-old self-dilated as it captured the image of the driveway lined by marble statues, with trees casting dappled shadows on the white figures that led to what looked like a castle, a spire jutting out of a low tower.

More than two decades later, I found myself at the same gate my family peered into. This time, they opened for me, and I drove into the 3.2-acre plot where the grand villa stood. The Fumakilla taukeh had agreed to an interview with Penang Monthly.