Sa Pa Market is located in District 4, Prague, divided into many areas such as cuisine, wholesale fashion, supermarket... on an area of nearly 40 hectares and is continuing to expand. Entering the market, visitors feel like they are lost in a bustling neighborhood in a province in the Northern Delta. Occasionally, groups of Czechs come here to explore Vietnamese cuisine, get their hair cut, do their nails, have a spa or go to Tam Da supermarket to buy goods at much cheaper prices than outside.
The market is located about 11 km from the center of Prague. To get to Sa Pa market, you can take a bus or a technology taxi for about 15 euros (equivalent to 400,000 VND). The market was formed in 1999 by the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic on the site of an old bankrupt factory. Therefore, it can be seen that the market looks old, except for the newly built prefabricated houses, where there are hundreds of stalls selling wholesale fashion, shoes, handbags, etc.
Right at the entrance is the Hai Duong rice roll shop. That's the name, but the shop sells many different dishes, such as congee with offal, vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste, duck eggs...
Mr. Dao, the owner, originally from Hai Duong who came to the Czech Republic in the 2000s, opened a quite successful banh cuon restaurant because "many Vietnamese customers in Germany often order a lot, bring them home to put in the refrigerator to eat gradually."
A large plate of banh cuon cha, enough for two people, costs 180 koruna (about 180,000 VND). Some countries in the EU have not yet been able to switch to the euro, such as the Czech Republic. In this country, tourists can use both currencies at the same time, but in Poland or the Nordic countries, you cannot use the euro for transactions.
Many restaurants but always crowded with customers
Pho is the most popular dish in Sa Pa market with 5-6 shops. Visitors can find Nam Dinh pho, Hanoi pho; then there are bun cha, bun ca, goat hotpot, seafood, bread...
The uncles and aunts at the market said that all kinds of herbs in Vietnam are available here, grown by Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic.
"Every time I go from Germany to Prague, I go to Sa Pa market to eat and drink. The food and drinks here have the most authentic Vietnamese flavor, like this Hue beef noodle shop," said Hung, who lives in Munich. According to Hung, Sa Pa is a wholesale market, supplying goods to buyers in many places inside and outside the Czech Republic. In addition, Sa Pa market also has a wider variety of food and fruits imported from Vietnam than other Vietnamese markets in Europe because import regulations into the Czech Republic are looser than those in Germany, France, etc. Therefore, many Vietnamese people from Germany still have to go to Sa Pa market to get goods.
Hai Ha Bun Cha restaurant is quite famous in Sa Pa because it has existed for 20 years. Ms. Ha, a Hai Phong native, the owner, said: "On weekends or local holidays, customers - mostly Czechs - line up all the way out onto the street." Each portion of Bun Cha costs 180,000 VND.
Sugarcane carts with sellers covered in protective gear, a familiar sight that can be seen anywhere in Vietnam. The only thing is that a glass of iced sugarcane juice here costs 150,000 VND. According to the shop owner, sugarcane is imported from Africa.
Tea lovers can also find their "true love" here with all kinds of tea from black beans to coconut ice cream, mixed fruit, durian... each cup costs 100,000 VND.
A grocery store inside Sa Pa market sells many kinds of fruits such as durian, mango, jackfruit, lychee... A kilo of lychee costs about 350,000 VND, Thai longan 150,000 VND, Vietnamese longan costs up to 450,000 VND.
However, the main activity of Sa Pa market is fashion, footwear... The wholesale stalls in the market mainly supply to wholesalers in European countries. According to a stall owner, the source of goods for the market comes from Poland.
Inside the Sa Pa market, there is also a huge Tam Da supermarket, which sells mainly household goods. The supermarket has not only Vietnamese customers, but also many Czechs who come here to shop because the prices are cheaper than in supermarkets outside.
At the end of the journey, visitors can stop by Vinh Nghiem Praha Pagoda right inside the market to enjoy the cool breeze and pray. The pagoda was built on an area of about 12,000m2 and was inaugurated in 2008.
The Vietnamese make up nearly 1% of the Czech Republic's population, about 80,000 people. The Vietnamese are deeply integrated into the country's economy and society, which is why in 2013, the Czech Parliament recognized the Vietnamese community as the country's 14th ethnic minority.
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