Lau Pa Sat

Lau Pa Sat is a historic hawker centre on Telok Ayer Street in Singapore, housed in an octagonal cast-iron structure that shelters hundreds of food stalls under its tall Victorian roof. Decorated columns support a roof design with a central lantern that lights the interior through colored glass panels, giving visitors a sense of 19th-century industrial architecture.

The first market appeared in 1824 right by the water, where fishers moored their boats and sold the catch on the same morning. The current iron building was completed in 1894 after components were prefabricated in Glasgow and shipped to Singapore by sea.

The name means old market in Hokkien and recalls the time when fishers and traders sold their goods here before the modern city rose around it. Office workers from nearby towers come for lunch today, just as tourists do, searching for free seats among the table rows while hearing a mix of languages spoken around them.

The place sits a short walk from Raffles Place MRT station and stays open late into the night, so you can eat well past midnight. On weekdays it gets crowded at lunchtime, while evenings offer more space between the tables and make finding a seat easier.

Every evening from 7 PM, Boon Tat Street turns into a grilling area where vendors prepare satay skewers and seafood on open charcoal stoves and smoke drifts through the street. The clock tower above the entrance chimes the hour and gives the nightly activity a steady rhythm that many regulars associate with the end of their workday.