Come meet 3 of our Vendors at the Flower Show this year.
Bee serving beefsticks and papaya salads.
Kem Lun aka "The Stir Fry Lady" shows us her famous lot cha noodles with a sunny side egg.
Saijai, with her son, making her specialty Thai dishes.
Hello. ChomReap Sur. Sabaidee. Sawatdee. Xin Chào. Salam.
The Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park is a community of refugees and immigrant members who have called the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park their home since the 1980’s. For 35+ years they have cultivated an open community space all their own, providing a cultural hub for social gatherings, sharing of ethnic cuisines and business opportunities through vending.
A unique market.
Our vending community has blossomed from the original Lao and Khmer sellers, expanding to Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian vendors -- each a part of the Southeast Asian refugee and immigrant narrative of Philadelphia, all finding a haven in FDR Park. Here you can enjoy many native cuisine dishes, culturally specific produce, plants, clothing and jewelry, as well as services provided by entrepreneurs speaking multiple languages.
A community space.
2020’s Covid pandemic realized a need to come together more than ever, and the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park provided a safe outdoor space for those moments. The Anti-Asian Hate Rally and March as well as back-to-school supply giveaways, bilingual voter registration and deportation information sessions with partnering community organizations proved the Market was more than just a place to buy things, it was a sanctuary in and of itself.
“I’m proud of Vendors Association of FDR Park, and how far we’ve come along facing many endless obstacles. The road has been tough but as long we stick together as a big family, there’s nothing we can't accomplish. Stay cool and awesome guys.”
— Jennie Nam, Market Supporter & Fan
Media Love
Youtuber Mark Wiens joins local food vlogger JL Jupiter to get a taste of Philly, including a tour of our Southeast Asia Market during Summer 2021, while AJ+’s Yara Elmjouie looks into the history of our vendors as refugees of war before becoming the biggest Southeast Asian street food market in the America.