Lau Pa Sat is an inextricable part of Singapore’s heritage, and these stalls offer both a glimpse of the country’s evolving culinary landscape and the best food at the historic hawker centre.
Located in the Central Business District, Lau Pa Sat, which means “old market” in Hokkien, was Singapore’s first wet market. The Victorian-style building was completed in 1894 but its origins can be traced back to 1823 when it was a timber and attap structure known as Telok Ayer Market.
In 1972, Lau Pa Sat was transformed into a hawker centre and was gazetted as a national monument the following year. Since its last renovation in 2014, the building now houses around 80 food stalls selling iconic local dishes like Hokkien noodles, bak kut teh, and thunder tea rice. In the evening, Lau Pa Sat’s adjoining Boon Tat Street closes to traffic and transforms into Satay Street, where multiple vendors grill meat skewers over charcoal fire, and dining happens under the sky.
At the same time, Lau Pa Sat is also home to hawkers that reflect the changing palates of Singapore. At Munchi Pancakes, the traditional min jiang kueh gets turned into an enclosed pancake with modern flavours, while Butter & Cream Bakery transforms the humble egg tart with salted egg. Others, like Rokus, combines Korean flavours into a burger while Project Açai serves the refreshing superfood dessert with nuts and fruits.
Whether you’re a first-time visitor looking for the best of Singaporean cuisine, or a local who simply wants a satisfying, fuss-free meal, check out all of the best local food offerings below.
Lau Pa Sat is located at 18 Raffles Quay, Singapore 048582.
(Hero and featured images credits: Lau Pa Sat / Facebook)
10 hawker stalls at Lau Pa Sat for the best food
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1 /10
Plenty of options exist along Satay Street, and one of the most popular is Best Satay 7 & 8. Operating here since 2002, the stall sells chicken, mutton, and beef skewers marinated according to a family recipe from the late 1960s, and cooks them over charcoal flame. They also developed their own peanut sauce, which is rich, nutty, and defiantly clings on to the smoky meats.
(Image credit: @best.satay / Instagram)
2 /10
Butter & Cream takes on the egg tart, from the classic to their own interpretations like salted egg tart and burnt cheese tart. Their muffins are also highly popular, featuring a moist centre, light crumb, and flavours such as blueberry, double chocolate, marshmallow, and volcano cheese. If you feel like sharing, the airy Hokkaido cheesecake will feed two.
(Image credit: Lau Pa Sat / Facebook)
3 /10
Most bak kut teh sellers in Singapore sell the peppery kind, but Feng Xiang focuses on the herbal style from Klang, Malaysia. Their version involves a soup stewed for hours, and embraces the meat with a rich, earthy spice. Another signature is the fried porridge. The grains are simmered in a broth then fried in a wok, offering both the heady aroma of smoke and the lusciousness of lard.
(Image credit: Feng Xiang Bak Kut Teh)
4 /10
This stall hails from the former Golden Shoe Hawker Centre and has over 40 years of experience in cooking Hokkien noodles that brim with wok hei. Available in two sizes, both options come with a heaping of pork lard, juicy prawns, and fiery sambal. The same smokiness also finds its way into the stall’s two other dishes, carrot cake and oyster omelette.
(Image credit: Lau Pa Sat / Facebook)
5 /10
Lao Fu Zi has won plaudits for its char kway teow, and the Old Airport Road hawker stall is now more accessible at Lau Pa Sat. The Bib Gourmand winner makes a drier version that is finely crunchy, wispy with egg, and laden with wok hei and sweet dark soy sauce.
(Image credit: @patrickyong / Instagram)
6 /10
Mr Rice presents the staple grain in two beloved forms. There is pao fan, or poached crispy rice, which is resplendent with vegetables, backed by seafood or pork chop, and comes in a thick, savoury broth. Fried rice is the other, which is topped with crispy rice for a fantastic crunch.
(Image credit: Lau Pa Sat / Facebook)
7 /10
Munchi Pancakes takes on the traditional min jiang kueh by turning it into a small, enclosed pancake with ingredients from the classic peanut to Thai milk tea, matcha, and Belgian chocolate. The larger-sized originals are also available with the option of having the fluffy skin flavoured with charcoal or green tea, sandwiched over heir homemade Biscoff spread.
(Image credit: Munchi Pancakes / Facebook)
8 /10
Project Açaí represents a growing segment of local diners that are looking for healthier option at their hawker centres. This stall caters to them by offering bowls of açaí, a berry native to Amazon and thought of as a superfood. Over here, the fruit is blended until it becomes a thick and smooth paste, then used as a vehicle for other equally healthy ingredients such as nuts and fruits. If you are too time-starved to sit down for a bowl, Project Açaí also sells their signature in a smoothie.
(Image credit: Project Açaí / Facebook)
9 /10
Rokus levels up the burger with typical Korean flavours. There are choices like tteokbokki, kimchi, and gochujang, which come with a juicy, medium-well patty and hand cut fries. Rokus also turns to Korea for their ramyeon, which tops cheese over grass-fed ribeye, egg, and noodles, while their rice bowls show off mentaiko sauce and Japanese short grain rice.
(Image credit: ROKUS & freedomism / Facebook)
10 /10
Thunder Tea Rice lives up to its name by specialising in lei cha. Packed with vegetables and carried by a tea-based broth, white rice can be substituted with brown rice or brown rice vermicelli, while additions of chickpea, basil chicken, or fish fillet makes the Hakka dish even heartier. Besides its signature, the stall also serves sambal squid and cai po omelette.
menu: (Image credit: Thunder Tea Rice 擂茶 / Facebook)
Jethro enjoys wine, biking, and climbing, and he's terrible at all three. In between them, he drinks commercial lagers, and eats dumplings and gelati.
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