Lau Pa Sat

Lau Pa Sat means old market in Hokkien, and the octagonal cast-iron structure standing on Raffles Quay was made in Glasgow, shipped out and erected in 1894, replacing an earlier market on the same site. It is a national monument and still functions as a hawker centre. In the evening the road along one side closes and satay stalls set up in it with tables in the street, which is the reason most people come.

Background

The market's other name, Telok Ayer Market, comes from the Malay for bay water, after the bay it once faced. The first market on the waterfront, a timber-and-atap building, opened in 1824 to sell fish. Its replacement, designed by George Drumgoole Coleman and finished in 1838, rested on two octagonal rings of brick piers and measured 125 feet across. Land reclamation on the bay began in 1879, and the present market was raised on the new ground and certified complete on 1 March 1894. The Municipal Engineer James MacRitchie designed it to cover 55,000 square feet, and its cast iron, costing £13,200, was shipped from Glasgow by P&W MacLellan. It counts among the first prefabricated cast-iron buildings in Asia.

Source: Wikipedia, "Lau Pa Sat"

What's there

• The cast-iron structure - an octagonal Victorian market shipped from Glasgow in 1894.
• The satay street - a road closed each evening for charcoal satay stalls and tables.
• The clock tower - the central tower at the middle of the octagon.
• The financial district setting - a Victorian market among banking towers.

When to go

Year round; the satay street runs in the evening from about seven. Lunchtimes bring office workers in numbers. Weekends are quieter than weekdays here.

What to expect

It is heavily geared to tourists and office lunches, and prices are above ordinary hawker rates. The satay stalls tout aggressively. Better hawker food is found in the neighbourhood centres.

Nearby

Telok Ayer is west, and Marina Bay is east.

Key facts