Eden Center - Falls Church, VA (see link to the left for additional information) - Looking for a place to find Tet decorations or cards, children's videos, ingredients for Vietnamese cooking, jade jewelry, or just to relive your trip to Vietnam. This is the largest and most well-known Vietnamese marketplace in the area. It is a thriving complex of restaurants, jewelry stores, food stores, dessert and coffee shops, etc. Often known as a "Little Saigon," Eden Center is definitely worth a visit. But be aware, it gets really busy on weekend nights and parking can be difficult.
Maxim's Supermarket - (640 University Blvd E, Silver Spring, MD, Phone: (301) 439-0110) - Don't let the name fool you. Although this is a great supermarket for purchasing ingredients essential for Vietnamese cooking, it is also has a front counter that sells silk outfits from Vietnam for reasonable prices. At last visit, a toddler boy's silk outfit with jacket, pants and cap cost approximately $20 (these are outfits that I saw little boys in Vietnam wearing for the Moon Festival parade). A pink silk ao dai for my daughter cost $30 and came with pretty pants with scalloped bottoms. They also had pink jelly sandal type squeaky shoes when I was there for $4 (December '02).
