After being in business for about a year, the Dong Fang Oriental Market closed and reopened under new management. I was pretty disappointed, since they were much better stocked than the Joyce Chen over in Amherst. But O Happy Day! The Merlion Asian Market has risen from the ashes of the old. They stock the foods that matter most: curry and hot chinese sauces. And gluten, pork dumplings, chinese meatballs, vegetables, steam breads, weird cookies, funky soft drinks, roasted seaweed, rice noodles, canned eel…you get the idea.

It’s taken then a couple months to really get restocked…the first few times I went in, it was looking pretty bare. But when I dropped by yesterday out of desperation for curry mix, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they’re much better stocked than before. It’s convenient to have such a place in Nashua.. When talking to the last owners, they mentioned that New Hampshire seemed to be more popular with the Asian community these days. I haven’t really noticed, though if it means more good food I’m all for it.

The owners seem pretty nice. One of them introduced themselves as “Eddie” and asked if I was looking for something in particular. After helping me, he pointed out that he was getting Taiwanese breads in. I request an onion bread, and hopefully I’ll get to eat one next week after a 15 year hiatus.