Tam Bạc Market is the busiest of the old central markets, in a brick hall on the southern bank of the Tam Bạc River. The market stretches in long parallel aisles selling fabric, household goods, spices, and an immense variety of fresh produce; the seafood section is the most interesting, with crabs, shrimp, eels, and unfamiliar river fish piled on ice.
Mornings are when locals shop and the place is at its busiest; by mid-afternoon it has wound down. The food stalls just outside the eastern entrance are a good place to try Haiphong's signature bánh đa cua — the crab noodle soup with red rice noodles that the city is famous for.