Saigon Asian Market — Attraction in Manchester

I love this place! Has a huge selection of products and really excellent banh mi sandwiches made fresh Thursday through Sunday, up front behind the counter at around 11:00am, first come first served. My personal favorite is the BBQ pork. I come here at least a couple of times a month for that alone.

Also up front near the counter are other homemade items, which seem to vary. For instance, today, I picked up some fresh shrimp spring rolls (the type with fresh herbs and veggies), as well as fried egg rolls).

They have so much stuff, you could easily spend an hour or two (or more) just browsing, honestly. They have an entire aisle dedicated solely to ramen. I grab half a dozen at a time and have a lot of fun just trying different brands and flavors out.

They have a fresh produce aisle, fresh meats, including cuts that are difficult to find elsewhere, like duck, and fresh seafood in the back.

I also go here for things like mochi ice cream flavors I can’t find at the common grocery store, like red bean and green tea, as well as pickled veggies like lotus root, garlic, bamboo shoots, and more.

And as some other reviews have mentioned, yes, full disclosure, the store is in a sketchy part of town, but that’s not their fault. Look, I’m a young woman and I feel totally comfortable going there. Just have some common sense about it. They have their own private parking lot, so I always use that. I also only go during daytime hours. I’ve commonly seen families with young children there, so don’t let fear get the best of you and deter you from going.

It’s an awesome spot that I...

I’m new to New Hampshire and I came here for the first time. It’s a great market with lots of hard to find Asian ingredients and also some Hispanic ingredients!

The only problem was when I had to return a bottle of Shaoshing wine today. The rim of the glass bottle was actually chipped under the sealed cap. I poured it into my sauce before noticing the chip. My concern was that there were broken glass pieces in the bottle and also now in my food. This is obviously an unsafe food product that the manufacturer provided here. The lady at the store did give me my money back, but unfortunately she was a bit rude to me about this. She was a little defensive, and didn’t seem to care/understand that there was a safety concern with this product that I bought. For me, it wasn’t about the money, it was about the safety. I think there was a language barrier and she was not fully understanding me.

An unsafe food product is probably a rare circumstance, but I was hoping to be reassured that food safety matters to you; and that you would hold the manufacturer accountable, or at least make a complaint to them, if they are providing unsafe food products like this.

I will be returning here because this place is truly a gem in the area. We’ll see how things go...

Pros & Cons - The positive is that there is a fairly wide selection, covering several countries of origin. I often find what I need. Employees are typically nice and helpful. That's all very good!

However, the primary drawback is the prices. There seem to be sweeping across the board price increases periodically that exceed my comfort level, Items are more expensive here than some places elsewhere - which unfortunately has driven me to shop elsewhere at times. Prices used to be very competitive and reasonable but appears far less so. And yes prices seemed too high well before the virus. Several other reviewers appear to have the same opinion. Price matters a lot. All things being equal, price can determine where many people will shop. If prices are too high, customers will be driven elsewhere if possible.

I offer this as a suggestion to the owners: please lower rather than raise - prices and possibly business will grow!

Just my opinion, I could be wrong in my conclusions. But again, just my feeling and opinion. Please visit the place and form your...