Lau Pa Sat Celebrates 130 Years of Heritage offering Free Augmented Reality Heritage Trail along with Local Artist Collaborations
Lau Pa Sat, one of Singapore’s most beloved landmarks, marks its 130th anniversary in grand style with a series of captivating collaborations with renowned local artists. Today, the iconic hawker centre unveiled a stunning 10-metre-long heritage mural by visual artist Yip Yew Chong, alongside a collection of merchandise featuring enchanting watercolor illustrations by local illustrator Ah Guo.
As Lau Pa Sat commemorates its rich history and evolution over the past 130 years, these collaborations pay homage to its status as a cherished monument in Singapore. The works of art vividly depict Lau Pa Sat’s journey through time, capturing its transformation from the first Telok Ayer Market in 1824 to the bustling culinary destination it is today.
The unveiling of these artistic endeavors coincides with World Art Day, underscoring the vital role that local artists play in preserving Singapore’s heritage and culture. Managed by Kopitiam, a social enterprise under FairPrice Group, Lau Pa Sat has long been a beacon for both locals and tourists, offering a tantalizing array of local culinary delights and unique experiences.
Iconic Heritage Lau Pa Sat Welcomes Visitors Back with Over 80 Food Stalls
Lau Pa Sat (or “old market” in the Hokkien dialect), this beautifully restored cast iron heritage site was Singapore’s first wet market that dates back over 150 years ago to the time of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore.
It was subsequently converted into a famous gourmet paradise and has been gazetted as a national monument since 1973.
Today Lau Pa Sat Festival Market is one of Kopitiam’s most well-known outlet offering Singaporeans and even tourists the best of authentic local and international cuisines.
Lau Pa Sat celebrates 130th anniversary
The stunning 10-metre-long mural on one of the walls of Lau Pa Sat. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
With its iconic clock tower and Victorian-era cast-iron structure, Lau Pa Sat is undoubtedly one of the grandest and most iconic hawker centres in Singapore. And this year, the national monument turns 130 years old.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, local artists Yip Yew Chong and Lee Kow Fong, also known as Ah Guo, agreed to create art pieces done up in their own unique styles. Yew Chong did what he does best, painting a stunning 10-metre-long, three-metre-high heritage mural of Lau Pa Sat's evolution over the years.
This may also be one of the last murals we see from Yew Chong. In a media event on April 15 for Lau Pa Sat's anniversary, Yew Chong admitted that he had contemplated not taking up the project.
Lau Pa Sat Celebrates 130 Years Of Heritage
Lau Pa Sat has unveiled a fresh 130th-anniversary logo, celebrating its deep roots in Singapore’s bustling hawker culture. The design beautifully merges elements of hawker traditions with the iconic architecture of the market, featuring Victorian cast iron columns, intricate leaf motifs, and its distinctive octagonal layout. You can spot the anniversary logo throughout Lau Pa Sat, adorning staff uniforms and special anniversary merchandise!
Lau Pa Sat is dedicated to offering its customers unique experiences that blend local culture, art, and music with hawker center dining. Beyond its culinary delights, Lau Pa Sat serves as a platform for promoting local businesses and supporting the arts community by showcasing their works. Food Folks, located within Lau Pa Sat, features up to 100 local brands, including favourites like Fossa Chocolate. Collaborations with local artists and musicians highlight Lau Pa Sat’s commitment to cultural enrichment and community engagement.
“We believe in the transformative power of art to tell stories and evoke memories. Through collaborations with Yip Yew Chong and Ah Guo, we aim to depict Lau Pa Sat’s rich history and vibrant spirit over the years. We hope this will inspire the community to gather, converse, and celebrate our heritage, food culture, and shared experiences within this space,” shared Pauline Png, Director of Customer Innovation and Marketing at Food Services. Lau Pa Sat revealed exciting collaborations with esteemed Singaporean artists. A stunning 10-meter heritage mural by visual artist Yip Yew Chong.
Lau Pa Sat
It was subsequently converted into a famous gourmet paradise and has been gazetted as a national monument since 1973.
Today Lau Pa Sat Festival Market is one of Kopitiam’s most well-known outlet offering Singaporeans and even tourists the best of authentic local and international cuisines.
Lau Pa Sat
Lau Pa Sat (Chinese: 老 巴 刹; pinyin: Lǎo Bāshā; lit. 'Old Market'), also known as Telok Ayer Market (Malay: Pasar Telok Ayer; Chinese: 直 落 亚 逸 巴 刹), is a historic building located within the Downtown Core in the Central Area of Singapore. It was first built in 1824 as a fish market on the waterfront serving the people of early colonial Singapore and rebuilt in 1838. It was then relocated and rebuilt at the present location in 1894. It is currently a food court with stalls selling a variety of local cuisine.
The market remains one of the oldest Victorian structures in South-East Asia and one of the first structures built in pre-fabricated cast iron in Asia. It is also the only remaining market left that served the residents in the central district of early Singapore. Telok Ayer Market (Malay: Pasar Telok Ayer; Chinese: 直 落 亚 逸 巴 刹) is named after Telok Ayer Bay. In the early nineteenth century, the market was a simple wooden building located on piles just over the waters of Telok Ayer Bay before land reclamation work filled in the bay. The Malay name Telok Ayer means "bay water", and the then coastal road Telok Ayer Street was located alongside the bay before land reclamation work started in 1879.
Lau Pa Sat (Chinese: 老 巴 刹; pinyin: Lǎo Bāshā) means "old market" in the vernacular Hokkien Chinese of Singapore. Lau (老) means old; pa sat is the Hokkien pronunciation of the Persian loanword "bazaar" (market) which is pasar in Malay. The original Telok Ayer market was one of the oldest markets in Singapore; a new market called Ellenborough Market was later built along Ellenborough Street (now the site of The Central shopping mall, next to Tew Chew Street), and that market became known to the locals as the "new market" (Pasar Baru or Sin Pa Sat, Ellenborough Street was known as Sin Pa Sat Kham meaning "the mouth of the new market"), while the Telok Ayer Market in turn became known colloquially as the "old market" or Lau Pa Sat. Because of its Victorian iron structure, the market is also referred to in Malay as pasar besi (market of iron).
Former Telok Ayer Market (now Lau Pa Sat)
Date of Construction: 1890-1894 - Date of Gazette: 28 June 1973
The first market in Singapore was located on the south bank of the Singapore River. The land there was soon required for commercial use, and Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles ordered the market to be moved to Telok Ayer. This area was then along the seafront, and a market on piles over the sea, was built by 1824.
In the 1830s, there was a need for a bigger market. G.D. Coleman won the commission to build it, and his market was ready for use by 1838. But Coleman had failed to take into account the powerful surf at Telok Ayer Bay, and his market over the water was structurally weak. The ornamental columns at the entrance of this octagonally-shaped market were a small but necessary luxury according to Coleman because the market was going to be a landmark and would face houses that were neat and respectable in appearance. Coleman’s market was used for some 40 years until it was encroached upon by land reclamation works at Telok Ayer.
In 1894, a new market was built on reclaimed land. Also octagonal in shape, it was meant as a tribute to Coleman’s market. The designer was the Municipal Engineer, James MacRitchie, who has given his name to a reservoir. The ornamental cast work used in its construction was imported from Glasgow. Today the market is known as the Lau Pa Sat, a food centre popular with both tourists and locals alike.
Former Telok Ayer Market
The former Telok Ayer Market (now known as Lau Pa Sat, meaning “old market”) at Raffles Quay was completed in 1894 to replace an earlier market that had been demolished for the Telok Ayer Basin land reclamation. It was gazetted as a national monument on 28 June 1973 and converted into a food and entertainment complex in 1989.
Its trademark octagonal design was set as early as the 1820s when it was just a timber-and-attap fish market set at the water's edge. It was rebuilt on the reclaimed Telok Ayer Basin at the turn of the century, the new version recapturing the framework design in a Victorian style. It was the first market built by the Municipal Commission and one of the first structures in Asia made of prefabricated cast-iron. The filigreed cast and wrought iron were imported from Glasgow.
As part of the renovations undertaken in the 1990s by Renaissance Properties of the Scotts Group, the market acquired new features such as chimes ringing out local tunes. The 23 bronze Dutch carillons were rung by a jacquemart, or a mechanical figurine. The 1.25m-high doll, dressed like a Chinese coolie, would simulate the ringing movements activating Chinese, Malay and Indian melodies. At the centre of the market was a sunken fountain with tiled flooring that could double up as a stage for performances. The fountain was reminiscent of a cast-iron fountain which marked the centre of the 1890 market but was relocated in 1920 and rediscovered only in 1989; it stands now in Raffles Hotel’s Palm Garden.
Former Telok Ayer Market (now known as Lau Pa Sat)
Affectionately known as Lau Pa Sat (老巴刹, ‘Old Market’) by generations of Singaporeans, the Former Telok Ayer Market was one of Singapore’s oldest markets. The iconic structure is the only survivor of the five markets that used to serve residents living in Singapore’s town area. The other four were Orchard Road Market, Rochor Market, Clyde Terrace Market (on Beach Road), and Ellenborough Market (near New Bridge Road).
The first Telok Ayer Market, opened in 1823, was a timber-and-attap structure located on the shore at the western end of Market Street. However, the structure was declared defective soon after its completion: the timber piles needed replacement, and the attap roof violated fire safety regulations set by the British Administration. Tiles were then installed on the roof, but the structure was unable to bear the weight. Attap was thus reinstated. By 1830, the market was once again deemed to be ‘extremely unsafe’.
A new market building replaced the dilapidated structure on the same site in 1833. It was constructed according to the design of George D. Coleman, the first Government Superintendent of Public Works who assisted in the planning of early colonial Singapore’s town centre. Among other buildings that Coleman designed were the Armenian Church, the first Saint Andrew’s Church, and Caldwell House within the grounds of the Former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus on Victoria Street. The impressive Telok Ayer Market was a noted landmark on the seafront, easily recognised in old paintings and photographs of Singapore. Four decades later, in 1879, the market was demolished due to the land reclamation project at Telok Ayer Basin and relocated to the newly reclaimed land at Collyer Quay. Municipal Engineer James MacRitchie was tasked to design the new market. Construction began in 1890 and was completed in 1894.
Singapore's Lau Pa Sat, Indonesia
Food centre similar to S'pore's Lau Pa Sat to open in Indonesia by end-2025
A food centre similar to Singapore's famous Lau Pa Sat is set to open in Indonesia. The food centre will reportedly have over 50 stalls and its own Satay Street, when it is ready in 2025.
The food centre is part of a mixed development named "Rukan Lau Pa Sat" situated in the up-and-coming Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK2) township. PIK2 has been dubbed "The New Jakarta City" and is located in the northern part of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. It is a joint venture between property developer Agung Sedayu Group and Salim Group, Indonesia's biggest conglomerate.
Agung Sedayu Group will be recreating Lau Pa Sat's colonial-themed architecture and orange roofing for the food centre in PIK2. Stalls at the food centre will mostly serve Indonesian cuisine, as well as food from the region, The Straits Times (ST) reported. There will also be different types of sate from different parts of Indonesia because people love to "have satay and chill", Agung Sedayu Group chief executive Steven Kusumo told ST.
