A solid Asian market. Don't expect the emporium-style size and variety like the big Asian markets in larger cities, or on the West Coast. It's small place, but still useful. Especially for Vietnamese ingredients as it's Vietnamese owned. Mostly Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai products. Don't expect to find a lot of Japanese or Korean products (or prepare to be able to identify their Chinese equivalents). What gives this place 4 stars instead of 3 for me, is because they serve banh mi sandwiches on Saturdays. Not the best one's I've ever had, but they hit the spot if you're craving it, and NO ONE else in town is doing it. High Fives for that.

Yes, it does stink of fish before you even walk in the door, but to be fair, they sell a large amount of fresh (and frozen) seafood, so that can't really be helped. I think this is a great Asian store for nh. It actually makes you forget you're in little old nh. The prices are very reasonable. It's a small store, but it fits my needs. Lots of diff kinds of noodles, beans, rice, sauces, vinegars, oils, candies & baked goods, tofu, meat, seafood, and a produce section that is similar to that of a small grocery store (for you bedford ppl, its kinda like harvest market). They carry traditional produce & "exotic". The ppl who work there are very friendly & will suggest a way to prepare an item if you ask what it is.

There is a necessary disclaimer to this 5-star rating: one must understand what Saigon is a place to shop for. The answer to that is seafood / fish. I understand fellow reviewers' qualms with the spices, packaged and processed foods, even the produce -- but this is not the place to be shopping for those things. Many supermarkets outdo Saigon in price/quality on those items; the really hard-to-get items can't be that hard with the internet or a day-trip to Boston. But when you see Saigon as primarily a fresh fish market, I think you'll understand the hype (and any 'strange smells' fall well within the realm of normalcy compared to any fresh fish market anywhere). The guys behind the fish counter are very knowledgeable and good-natured and, as you can see mountains of different types of fish displayed on ice, can recommend or answer questions for you. Prices are excellent and the fish is always fresh -- though, to the best of my knowledge, they get the largest fresh shipment on Friday morning. When you choose your fish, its weighed for price, then the fish is gutted/cleaned and given to you ready to cook. There is also a separate little area for squid, octopus, crabs (I'm less thrilled about these). Quality and freshness cannot be overemphasized, which are the most important factors in a delicious fish meal. Credit card I believe has a minimum of $20, so most of my fish-only orders are cash only. Long story short: if shopping for fish and seafood in the greater Manchester area, I don't know of a better place than Saigon.

After you get over the halting aroma of fish that hangs in the air like the perfume of my aunt and start to consider that you are in Manchester, NH and not Boston's chinatown, this place is a real gem. They have all the fun produce you can never find in a grocery store, a vast noodle selection, and a really cool asian candy selection. Plus they have ban mi's (sp?) on the weekends that are essentially being given away. Although I'm way too sketched out to buy any meat here, I visit this place every time I want to get my stirfry on, and it never, ever, disappoints. They have a credit card minimum fee which is annoying, and I'm pretty sure that I get weird looks due to my non-asian ancestry, but I will continue coming back for the uniqueness of the items that they offer.

Ok, maybe I really shouldn't be reviewing this store since I'm just a visitor in NH and came across this store through recommendation, but... Come on people!!! Guess y'all have never been to any of the ones in Boston, Los Angeles or New York... If NH enforces restaurant code ratings like we have in LA, this one will actually get an A rating. Sorry guys, the smell is really not that bad! Overall, it's not a very impressive store, but definitely have most of the ingredients you'd need to make authentic Asian dishes.

"I'll help you at this register" said the young woman behind the counter. She could see my arms were full of items I picked up while walking around the store. I always seem to pick up more than just the couple of items I come in for. As she was ringing up my beef bones (xuong bo), bag of mixed spices (gia vi nau pho dac biet) and rice noodles (banh pho), she asked "what are you making at home, pho?". "Yeah", I said. She looked like she didn't believe me. "What, you don't think the white guy knows how to make pho?", I said, more or less pronouncing "pho" ("fa?", not "foe") correctly. "Where did you learn to make it?", she asked, "Vietnamese people?". "No. I eat it at lots of Vietnamese restaurants. Then I go home, read recipes and learn to make it myself". "You like hot sauce?", she asked. "I've got a bottle of Sriracha at home". She looked dubious. Picking up the bag of mixed spices and pointing at the star anise, "You don't need much of this..." Then pointing at the cheese cloth bag inside, "... and you don't eat this", she said. "Yeah yeah. I know." She didn't believe a word I said, or maybe she was just trying to be helpful, or maybe both.