Lau Pa Sat
Lau Pa Sat, also known as Telok Ayer Market, is a historic building in Singapore’s Downtown Core. Its name means “old market” in Hokkien.
The site’s market began as Telok Ayer Market, a wooden fish market opened in 1824 on Telok Ayer Bay. It was rebuilt in 1838 after safety concerns. In the 1890s, after land was reclaimed, a new market was built at the present location. The current octagonal building, completed on 1 March 1894, uses cast-iron pillars cast in Glasgow. It was designed by James MacRitchie and became a landmark of waterfront Singapore.
Over time, land reclamation moved the shoreline away from the market. In 1879, work began to reclaim Telok Ayer Bay, and by 1890 the new market site was ready. The building’s cast-iron frame and central clock-tower with a lantern helped make it famous as one of Southeast Asia’s oldest Victorian iron structures.
In 1972 Telok Ayer Market was turned into a hawker centre, and it was declared a national monument on 28 June 1973. In 1986, construction of a new MRT line under the market required dismantling its iron supports; after the works, the market was rebuilt and reopened in 1991 as Lau Pa Sat, a festival market and modern food court with street-side eateries and a clock-tower centerpiece.
Kopitiam took over operations in 1995, continuing the open-air street-eating concept. A major renovation from 2013 to 2014 improved ventilation and seating, and Lau Pa Sat reopened on 30 June 2014. In 2020, a partial renovation added a new Food Folks hall, about 7,000 square feet, with the rest of Lau Pa Sat reopening in 2021.
Today Lau Pa Sat remains a busy dining destination, famous for its octagonal iron structure, central lantern, clock tower, and a carillon of 23 bells.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:11 (CET).