Little Saigon Supermarket

Living in Colorado Springs, there is a limited amount of Asian grocery stores in the area. The prices are higher with not a lot of options for groceries. I’ve been going to this store for years and is probably one of my favorite Asian grocery stores in the state of Colorado. They carry all kinds of tea, candy, produce, meat, and the noodle aisle is enormous! I love some of the desserts and pastries they have in the cooler and I would recommend them since they are so good!

Atrocious service but this is the only place I can find the southeast Asian stuff I need. I went in to get kaya (coconut jam) and the cashier said they didnt have it. I described it and she said again with exasperation they DIDNT HAVE IT. So I searched aisle by aisle and found THREE TYPES. I told her when I checked out and she said nothing and brusquely took my cash. If I had a choice I wouldnt return but I need my kaya and bawang goreng :(

Little Saigon Supermarket that isn’t in Little Saigon, California. It’s your typical Vietnamese supermarket and it definitely smells and look like it. You could pick up all your Asian herbs/​spices, essential foods, ingredients and drinks for the weekend. It’s fairly price and some stuff are cheaper than California.
We always stop by here to pick up supplies before heading to Vail/​Keystone for the weekend. By supplies, I mean top ramen, soy milk and more top ramen.

If you like cooking Asian food, you know that certain things in a regular grocery store (sesame oil, rice and ginger root) cost quite a bit more than they do at a specialty grocery store, and many more items can’t be found at all. That’s what I love about Little Saigon.
You have to do a bit of searching to find what you’re looking for, though, and I’ve never gotten any help from the staff. They typically stay near the registers.
That aside, it’s one of the only places to buy more exotic foods that you can’t find at King Soopers or Safeway or any of the other places in town.

This is the best place to get Vietnamese groceries and to-​go food in Denver that I’ve found. They don’t have banh mi or phở, but they do have spring rolls and all of the random dishes that are a mix of sticky rice, meat, and stuff you can’t identify. Between this place and the bakery a couple doors down, there’s also the full array of Vietnamese dessert food too.
The downside is the meat/​produce section, where a lot of the non-​frozen stuff looks less-​than-​fresh. However, the frozen fish is a pretty good deal – I bought a bag of «MISC» for less than a dollar a fillet, and it turned out to be perfectly edible tilapia (I think). A lot of other reviews have complained about the customer service, but it isn’t appreciably worse than Asian grocery stores in other cities.

Ugh! I have been going to this market for years, I am Asian. Yes, they have what I am looking for but do you think once in the 20 years I have been going there that they would be polite. I think after today’s experience I am done.
Today, I politely put all of my items on the counter by the cash register so I could pay. There were two women within 5 feet of me stocking the refrigerated case. As I stood there for about 3 minutes, one looked up at me, granted she had already made eye contact with me after I said hello when I first got to the counter, and finally asks if I am ready to check out. What the heck… and this is not the only time this has happened. I also go to this market with my Vietnamese friend who speaks Vietnamese. All of you whities out there, don’t think the staff isn’t talking about you because they are. They have lots of colorful things to say about their patrons. So, good luck, I am going back to my Pacific Mercantile downtown!

There’s not a ton of Asian markets in Denver so this one will have to take the cake for my go to Asian grocery needs. They sell che and prepared foods as well as meat and fruits like jackfruit, mango, rambutan, longan, and lychee. They sold a big bag of cherries for under $ 2 and 2 boxes of strawberries for $ 1.60. That’s cheaper than in California even though the strawberries came directly from California.
This market is multi leveled and is pretty small compared to the Asian markets that I am used to in San Jose. Despite this, they offer most of what I need. I saw a wide selection of frozen shrimp and colorful sticky rice that may at first appear to be tacos. Today was the first time I had ever seen neon pink sticky rice.
I’m just happy to have found a Vietnamese market at all.

What do you do on the day before Thanksgiving when you promised dozens of traditional Chinese spring rolls to your friends and family you are also introducing to your Chinese girlfriend?
Come to Little Saigon Supermarket and get everything you need (well almost). This grocery is in the Far-​East Center and while not the largest Asian grocery in town, it is well-​stocked and organized.
The produce section is really great, having a lot of really cool looking produce you don’t see at King Soopers plus having it at pretty low prices. Fresh herbs are a steal here with fresh basil, cilantro, lemongrass, chives, etc., at much lower prices than you can get at a regular grocery store.
The meat section was big but didn’t have the ground pork we needed so oh well on that. But they did have the spring-​roll wrappers we needed and all the other sauces and accompaniments.
Since the GF lives in Parker which doesn’t have a close-​by Asian grocery, she decided to take advantage of Little Saigon and stock up on her favorite grocery items. They had a surprising depth to their products, stocking not just Vietnamese essentials, but products from Thailand, Korea, Chinese and even Indian cooking. The customer service was also quite helpful with the women explaining that the «Indian curry» packet was actually the needed garam masala, which upon further inspection appeared accurate.

It was here, at this asian market, that my boyfriend and I began our *epic* adventure across Denver (and its suburbs) for the exotic delicacy, balut. If uncertain, feel free to google but pictures may be relatively disturbing, FYI.
I, myself, was not interested in eating balut– but my boyfriend’s brother is in the service and had been craving this like mad; he was obviously tired of over-​processed American foods.
By reading my awesome intro, you can tell that our adventure did not end at this first stop. My boyfriend’s brother apparently has a certain affinity for chicken balut, and not duck balut. Which– Little Saigon– did indeed have the duck variety.
Although we were dismayed, we walked out with a package of 100 oysters for $ 55. They were a bit small, but tasted okay [I’m not much of an oyster eater, so I probably am not the best judge. You think I would be since I live in Seattle :/​].
Like everyone said, it’s a bit small and cramped full of little asian snacks and delicacies. And lots of things in jars. But it was fun, the people were nice. I don’t know if I’d buy meat and veggies here on the regular, but this place is definitely the real deal.

I feel like I am actually in a market in Saigon when I visit this place. I love the wide selection of spices and Asian ingredients. The rice vinegar is priced at about half of the typical American market. The seafood and meat department are different than say… Tony’s Market but that is where the fun and the intrigue start. I seriously looked at pigs’ intestine, all types of tongue and exotic fish, fruits and greens. Take a walk on the wild side and visit this market! Yay! I am a fan.

You know that feeling when you walk into unknown territory, like an Asian market, you feel like a giant and think everyone is awkwardly staring at you??? Yup, that happens all the time when you go into Asian markets, so get used to it LOL! Welcome to Federal Blvd!
In order to take in the experience of a low cost, not so A grade clean, mom n pops Asian store, you must leave the bougieness at the door.
The market carries all your usual Asian needs, spices, snacks, kitchenware, noodles, specialty drinks, bamboo picnic mats, palm brooms, asian desserts, rice cookers, fast food, etc. Everything may seem packed or tightly jumbled but that’s just because there isn’t overhead storage or they can’t reach the top shelf ;)
Everything you’ll find here will be 40% off regular American market prices.
My recommendations:
–come here for condiments, sauces and spices
–rice
–Asian wares, chopsticks, bowls, soup spoons etc
–Bottled Thai iced tea and other drinks
Stay away from:
–buying meats here

Hard-​to-​find Asian ingredients at great prices… not much else.
This is the only Asian grocer I’ve been to in Denver, so my only comparisons are to some pretty fantastic ones in the DC suburbs.
Little Saigon is pretty small and not very well organized. Each of its 5 or so aisles in the dry goods section are jam-​packed with a decent variety of ingredients for Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and some Japanese cooking. Everything is just piled on the shelves so you can spend a lot of time searching for specific items. The basics are easy to find. I went mainly for rice noodles… simple.
There is another side of the store that has a small produce section, meat and seafood. I grabbed some veggies which look fresh, but I was a little afraid of anything else over there. The market is pretty dirty and had an overall aroma of urine. Those are two factors that will generally deter me from buying meat.
The prices are fantastic and I’d go back for certain items, but I’m going to try a few more Asian markets first.

I’m always surprised by what you can find in Colorado. Little Saigon Supermarket is no exception.
Food: As the name suggests, you’ll find all sorts of Vietnamese items in this market. If you want some Thai curry mix or phở soup base, they have shelves and shelves of the stuff. There is cookware in one of the back aisles and plenty of tropical produce prominently displayed in the central portion of the market. I wasn’t going to buy anything at first since I was just curious as to what was going on in here, but I spotted some mangosteen sitting on a shelf (
). I’ve heard this fruit is unbelievably delicious so my coworker and I wanted to try a bit. There were high quality mangosteens that you could purchase individually for a hefty price, and a bag of smaller ones bundled together for a non trivial amount. The woman working the cash register was nice enough to rip one out for us since we kept debating on whether or not we should buy some in front of her. It sort of went downhill from there. Another guy working there cut the mangosteen open with what seemed to be a pretty dirty knife and said some questionable things to us. And while the fruit was absolutely delicious, some parts of it were decidedly rotten. We still had to pay a crap ton for that fruit…
Atmosphere: Man, it is not clean in here. I can remember going to the Chinese markets in San Gabriel Valley as a kid and becoming a hypochondriac immediately after stepping through the door. I feel like a lot of Asian markets in LA really cleaned up their act, but his place evoked some strong memories.
Service: See food section.
Synopsis: This place is ok, but make sure you wash everything you buy.

This is my favorite local Asian market in Denver. It has character. It has freshly-​made tofu and Asian pastries + deserts. It has cheap jackfruit and FROZEN COCONUT MILK (miles better than the pasteurized and preservative-​laced canned stuff). The produce is pretty fresh, the fish is frozen and more questionable… but then again, all the fish outside of pricey places like Whole Foods is.
I’ve spoken with the manger to request an item and she was friendly and helpful, not surly and dismissive — as is fairly typical in some Asian businesses.
Overall very recommended. Good people, good food.

Local Asian grocery store. Good place to go for a deal on cans of coconut milk (79 cents), or rice noodles (1.39). I’m of course comparing to Safeway, not other Asian groceries.
They also have candy, cooking utensils, scary looking unlabeled wrapped meat, pigs feet, chicken feet, various frozen pieces of marine life, and cheap curry paste.
It’s exactly what you’d expect from your local Asian supermarket, and I’m glad I finally stopped by.

With the closing of the neighboring market, it seems that the owners of this market have really upped their game. They’re fully stocked with all kinds of good stuff that you won’t be able to find elsewhere (including H-​Mart). So far, this is the only place that I know of in Denver where I can find my beloved instant vietnamese coffee (can’t live without it!!!). They’ve got a great (if somewhat poorly organize) selection of housewares and dishes, so you can find some really good stuff tucked away in various corners.
My only beef (lol) with this place is their seafood department. Don’t think I’d be comfortable with bringing home any of the fish here for fresh sashimi, but maybe I should check it out earlier in the morning before I put my word on that. But pretty much any time I’ve been here, the seafood department has failed to impress.
Great selection of interesting produce, full of things that you’ll be scratching your head about. Check it out!

Located in the Far East Center, this market offers up some of the most unique grocery items that you aren’t going to find at any king Soopers or Safeway. I’m an adventurist eater and open to many different food items, which is probably why I like this place so much. An enthusiast for Asian spices, sauces, curries, and marinades to experiment with in my cooking, this place meets my needs. Soy sauce and teriyaki as the only option at your local King Soopers just doesn’t cut it.
I could spend hours in here, and often times do, just looking at the obscure candies, bottled fish pastes, and, oh yeah, the meat and seafood options. Don’t imagine you’d find a quarter of this stuff at any supermarket chain. Chicken feet, gizzards, jelly fish, tripe, and a lot of unrecognizable and unmarked items line this section of the market. Even I am a bit leery of a lot of the items in this section, but hey, I’m sure it’s all good.
Why must the Far East Center be so far from me. Ironically it is far from me in the West direction.

I love that Denver has some semblance of a Little Asia. A wide variety of Asian cuisine can be found within about a mile on South Federal, including some incredibly authentic Vietnamese and Thai. Sprinkled among the dining are several grocery stores, including Little Saigon. This small store is stocked to the ceiling with an array of spices, sauces, curries, and exotic imports. A few items were familiar to me from the shelves of Whole Foods, and they were literally a tenth of the price here. They also have a less-​well-​stocked produce section, and hefty meat counter with more basic american cuts as well as harder to find items such as chicken feet.
The store loses a few stars based on cleanliness; suspect it’s been a while since the floors were mopped and I ultimately didn’t feel comfortable purchasing non-​packaged food. It wasn’t enough to make me leave — I stocked up noodles, spices, teas, and six types of curry. Mmm.

Absolutely the bestest Asian market ever! I find myself here every week. A «quick» trip to Little Saigon usually takes an hour or more.
I can only really repeat what others have said — it’s a little cramped, not terribly well-​organized, not terribly clean, some of the staff are downright rude, but it has pretty much everything you could ever possibly want for Asian cooking, all under one roof. I’m no expert on stores like this, but what sets it apart from anything I’ve seen before is the fresh produce section — it is absolutely fantastic, carrying your everyday kitchen staples like carrots, cabbage, spuds etc to all kinds of exotic fruits and veggies, all at crazy low prices. The fresh meat and fish section is also amazing. I’m not even going to bother looking for someplace else to get my Asian market fix — this place has it all!
PS I’m not sure it’s entirely Wheelchair Accessible — the aisles are pretty narrow, and would be tricky to navigate when it’s super busy.

Little Saigon can be a really cool place to shop if you know how to play by their rules. Here are my TOP FIVE TIPS for shopping at Little Saigon:
1. CHECK EXPIRATION DATES. I cannot stress this enough. Sauces and mixes are the most common culprits for being past their prime. If you can’t find the expiration date, steer clear.
2. Stock up on your fresh herbs and veggies. Why pay $ 3.99/lb for red bell peppers at King Soopers when you can buy them here for less than half that price? Why pay $ 6 for a sprig of basil from Whole Foods when Little Saigon has it by the baggie for a buck? True, some of the stuff may be barely recognizable to the broccoli-​n-​carrots crowd, but go nuts and get yourself some fuzzy melon or baby bok choy. Even if you don’t like it, you didn’t spend a lot. BONUS: they almost always have long beans (the exotic hipster cousin of the trailer-​dwelling American green bean).
3. Check your attitude at the door. If you’re the type of person who rolls with the rednecky, «it’s America, dang it– y’all should larn t’speak AMERICAN,» crowd… or even the snooty, «sigh… I just can’t get any GOOD HELP around here *sniff*,» crew… well, Little Saigon may not be your place. Lose the sense of entitlement, be willing to spend some time searching for what you want rather than demanding that someone hold your hand and escort you to it, and you’ll be much happier here.
4. The squeamish need not apply. Little Saigon won’t win any awards for cleanliness, and their fresh fish and meats department can be downright scary. If this sort of thing freaks you out, you’d better stick to the packaged foods area. I’m serious. Don’t even venture down that ramp.
5. Experiment!!! If you can’t read a single word on that jar of sauce (except the all-​important expiration date– see tip número uno), give it a try! Happy Happy Shrimp Crisps? Oh definitely! Tasty Good Make Luck For Your Mouth Candy of Saturday? Toss it in the cart! Going out on a culinary limb is what makes shopping at Little Saigon so much fun. Me love it long time.