Rather than a traditional market, Lau Pa Sat is a huge food court where you can have authentic noodle dishes and a Big Mac in the same meal. The structure itself, the largest Victorian filigree structure that remains standing in Southeast Asia today, has been built twice.

Originally constructed from Glaswegian iron in 1894 it enjoyed the fame of being the city’s only market when it was built, but by the 1980s it was taken down to make way for the city’s metro system, and each of the three thousand iron parts was carefully catalogued for it to be reconstructed in the future. Today the structure has been rebuilt where it originally sat and is true to the original design - most of the original pieces of the jigsaw made it back.

Alongside the food stalls, the market’s kiosks sell arts, handicrafts and souvenirs but the real must-see attraction is the night market. At dusk, the Boon Tat Road is closed to cars and pushcarts flow out into the street selling freshly barbequed satay sticks and fish, sticky honey chicken wings, Hokkien bak ku teh (boiled pork ribs in a seasoned soup), crunchy popiah (like a spring roll), laska (spicy noodle soup) and a huge array of other delectable treats that can baffle even the local diner. Find a place to perch with your food, sit back with a teh tarik (hand pulled milk tea) or thirst quenching tiger beer and soak up the atmosphere.

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Written by  Alessia Horwich.

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