Tom Yum Goong II

Sadly, this restaurant has closed this East Windsor location. I believe they are in Robbinsville now. Great food.

Even though there are a handful of chinese restaurants around this area, there is only one thai restaurant called Tom Yum Goong Il. Every time I come here, I always leave with a smile because I always have a great time eating the food and being in the serene and calm environment.
By the decors, lighting, and background music, this is definitely a fine dining, but East Windsor doesn’t have many fine dining restaurants in town. Most of the restaurants and diners are on the casual end of the spectrum, thus TYG definitely stands out from the other. However, the food is on the more expensive side too, which may be the reason this place is running out of business.
I’ve been here numerous times, but I always get the same few dishes, such as Pad Thai, Crazy Noodles, Red/​Yellow/​Green Curries, and sometimes I get the seafood soup. Thai food, unlike Chinese, can get very spicy, so even if you think you can eat very spicy, please don’t go beyond medium spicy! I remember the first time, I tried this, I got mild, and whoa! It was still very spicy. I literally cleared all my sinus. I teared and had a runny nose throughout my entire meal, but the dish was so tasty, steamy, and flavorful that I couldn’t put my fork down!
Just writing this review makes me want to go grab dinner there tonight. Yum, yum!

Went for lunch ordered soup for eight bucks.
Waiter comes back asks if I want a bowl, I said ok now it’s 12 bucks .
It was good. Not 15 bucks good.
Came with a piece of hard plastic about a half inch big.
Was ingnored. No acknowledgement.
No sorry I was very surprised.
I will not be back.

food is good, not great, but service is slow and wait staff inattentive. Duck nice and crispy, but not quite boneless as advertised. Peanut sauce is good, golden purses good, details are not quite there, items not cut all the way through — when served cut– flowers made fr on vegetable or fruit are not professional quality. All in all — order as takeout just average.

Tom Yum Goong on a Friday afternoon for lunch is: a clean restaurant with some tables peopled by customers and a good number [of people] who entered & exited for take-​out while I waited for my friend outside.
is cloth napkins and completely efficient but obviously much-​used dishware that might prove (in our case, did) to be extraneous like the entrée sized, rounded square white plate present upon being seated.
is an apathetic waitress who responds with as few words as possible, though admittedly with the information requested.
is an $ 8.99 order of Pad Num Mun Hoi (listed igredients: onions, scallions, mushrooms; unlisted: carrots, peppers, & bok choy perhaps) with fairly standard yet still tasty house sauce and white rice (no brown rice option). Also a $ 10.99 lunch special order of Thai spring rolls and chicken Pad Thai. The spring rolls (2) were quite mushy inside and had a turnip sauce that was fine, not unique. The Pad Thai noodles, though I did not taste the dish, looked overcooked.
is a somewhat muddy Thai iced coffee that is difficult to stir due to an abundance of ice cubes.
is totally OK at these prices (what are you people talking about?) but not a place for which anyone should go out of the way.

Great authentic thai cuisine. Not for the faint at heart. Wonderful spices and the heat to go with. Viva la spicy.

Food is okay. I specified SPICY because I have a bad cold. I SPECIFIED spicy. My exact words were «don’t hold back. I want it as spicy as you can make it» the food was bland. No spice at all. They left an entire order off our Togo order as well. One person in our party went without because we didn’t notice till we got home. This restaurant has potential. I just think they need to give a little more attention to taking orders correctly and giving the customer what they promised.

This was my first in house meal @ Tom Yum Goong II, the other experiences coming via take out to my office. I was looking forward to checking it out.
The shop is in the center with Target. It is a nice open space with lots of windows. The tone was hushed with brown predominating. Buddha smiled benignly from the wall. On this cold Tuesday afternoon the room was too cool for comfort, and more heat would have been appreciated. That message is equally applicable to the food.
Our server was friendly and helpful with my first close look at the full menu. There were three of us, so we were able to order several dishes and agreed to taste everything. Sharing is caring.
The lunch included Thai Rolls with dipping sauce. Although fried they were not oily, and had an interesting taste, with the sauce on the sweet side. Liked them.
The Veggie Soup was loaded with fresh ingredients and had a mild Lemongrass flavor. The veggies were still crunchy. Perhaps, the best thing on the table.
The Pad See Iew and Crazy Noodles, both with Chicken, looked almost identical. It was explained that the Pad See was more mild than the Crazy Noods, but in reality neither was sufficiently spiced, and the tastes were barely distinguishable. I asked for Chili Sauce on the side, and when poured onto my food substantially improved the flavor quotient, but did not really taste like it was part of the dish. Of course, it wasn’t intended, nor prepared, with heat. I was not happy with the blandness, and the chicken was slightly dry from over cooking. The Crazy Noodles had the same brown glaze covering the fat pasta, and to my tongue offered a mildly hot response, but not nearly strong enough to make a definitive statement. It was meek.
The Yellow Curry with Vegetables was an improvement over the other plates, as the curry was strong enough to be enjoyable. The colors and flavors were aligned well.
The only tea available was a selection of Bigelow, but nothing authentically Thai or Asian. This amazed me, and reflects on the lack of genuineness here. No Green Tea? No Jasmin? No Oolong? I had to settle for a tall glass of hot water.
My impression is that the kitchen here is too timid with spices. Maybe they have evidence that this is what most people prefer, but no one I know really likes bland food unless they have colitis. My advise is to liberate the spice rack and make a stronger statement about your intentions as a restaurant. If you insist on keeping everything on the mild side, then put a selection of spices on the table to permit customization prior to consumption. If you want to present Thai cuisine as it really is at home, then commit to pouring on the chili, ginger, lemon, coconut milk, etc., and advise patrons to let you know if you want less flavor.
The burden should not be on your customers to ask for more taste with their meals.

The food is really nice but really pricey, lunch special for $ 12 and even the veggied dishes are like 14 –15 dollars .
A family for 3 ends up paying like 45 – 50 dollars (no appetizers, seafood or desserts and excluding the tip) for like 3 dishes and not huge portions either make me hesitate to got here again.

2.5 stars
Too pricey for average food.
Food: Spring rolls were tasty, but nothing else. The food didn’t have much flavor.
Price: Pricey for a Thai restaurant.
Service: Very friendly and accommodating.
Atmosphere: Plain, sedate and boring.
BYOB
With tax and tip $ 27/​person. Way too expensive for average Thai food.
I won’t go back.

INTRODUCTION:
I went here for lunch around 12 because it is close to my work. When I walked in there was only one other table seated. The waiter seated me promptly and handed me a lunch menu. For $ 10.99 you can get an appetizer (soup, salad, Thai or veggie roll) and a choice of Pad Thai, crazy noodles, rice, or various curries. I got the lunch special with Thai rolls and chicken Pad Thai Siam. You can get the Pad Thai with a choice of chicken, beef, or duck.
STAFF/​ENVIORMENT:
The staff is friendly and can speak English fairly well. They were constantly refilling drinks and checking in on how the food was. The environment was nice, with fresh roses at every table; although, the music was depressing, as I felt like I was in a movie after someone had just passed away and had to go to a restaurant by myself.
FOOD:
The Thai rolls arrived first. They were fried nicely and were still hot on the inside. They were served with a sweet honey sauce. Although texturally the rolls were nice, the stuffing was one dimensional and didn’t have much flair, while the sauce did little to help this situation. The Pad Thai Siam (Chicken) arrived next and was plated nicely. The noodles were cooked well and texturally the dish was perfect — the noodles had a slight bite, the bean sprouts had a great crunch, the mushrooms were soft, the peanuts were crumbly, while the chicken was nicely seared and rounded out the textural array. Flavor wise the Pad Thai fell short. Although multi dimensional, all the flavors stood on the same plane, fighting with each other. Flavor wise the dish lacked cohesiveness and the punchy flavors so often associated with Thai cuisine. Although a small wedge of lime was provided, it was little help. Where was the finishing freshness that this dish desperately needed?!
PRICE:
The lunch special was $ 10.99 and I gave $ 2 as tip so the total came out to be $ 13. Not too much to complain about considering I got an appetizer, and a generous portion of Pad Thai.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, I thought the food was sub par when compared to other Thai places I have been to. Although the service was great, I would be hesitant to come back again.

There really isn’t any other Thai place in the area, so it’s a good thing the food here is pretty good. The person that took my order was very nice and patient. Pad thai and thai iced tea was $ 16. It’s more on the pricey side. I did appreciate that they made the drink when I arrived so it wouldn’t be all melty.

Service: average
Food: my pad thai was not bad but wasnt good either. Portion was normal
Price: this wouldnt be a bad place to eat frequently if it wasnt for high price
Place: its few doors next to Target… Owner should rethink pricing.

This restaurant is a huge disappoint for me unfortunately. First of all, this place is highly OVER-​PRICED for what they serve here. Typically Thai food are about $ 10 a dish but here it’s around $ 16!
I do not mind paying more for good food but the food here is bland. I feel that they serve way too many vegetables with their dishes and because of that, the flavor gets watery and bland. This is sad, but I have to admit out of all the Thai restaurants I’ve been to, this is the worst taste-​wise.
But the staff here are very nice and attentive, so it’s sad to see the food here being no that great.
Unfortunately I do not recommending coming here and now I have to find another Thai place around the area (or wait until I finally move to San Francisco in about 2 months when I can finally eat good quality food!)

We liked the food from Tom Yum Goong in Princeton, but it burnt down. Some of the problems there included draftiness as well as dismissive (rude) service.
That was not the case at their new location.
Crap – it looks like I didn’t finish my review 3 months ago!
A friend and I met here for lunch, with our 15 month old daughters. We were immediately seated with high chairs and water.
There is a lunch menu, but I found a duck dish, $ 13?, and I love duck. Spicy – with chiles on the side please? Yes – they actually had chiles, unlike Da’s. The duck was succulent and crispy, over a bed of stir-​fried vegetables that were crispy. The only problem was allowing my daughter to eat with her hands – she wiped her eyes and started screaming. Off to the restroom to wash her off, but the damage was done, though the fault was 100% mine for not giving my daughter a utensil or paying attention to the spicy sauce she rubbed into her tired eyes. On the plus side, the other patrons did not give us dirty looks, hopefully because I acted promptly.
I asked for my plate to be wrapped up, which was done immediately with a smile.
It’s a nice place, with fantastic Thai food, a comfortable but modern setting, servers who listen to your spice preferences. The water was refilled regularly, without asking.
Having eaten so much bad Thai food in the area, I am so very glad that Tom Yum Goong is back, even if it’s no longer within walking distance. It’s pleasant, pretty, easy going, friendly, customizable, and delicious – much like our favourite Indian place, Cross Culture (I mention this because nearly every other Indian and Thai place we’ve been to doesn’t believe us when we ask for spicy; we are not from the area, and spicy = include fresh chiles, garlic, and all of the other wonderful things that are the antithesis of bland, boiled, salted convalescent food).
I can’t wait to return – it is that good.
Edit: a lot of other reviewers complained about price; I don’t know where they’re used to, but the other, seriously crappy Thai places within 20 miles are priced the same. The same was true in San Francisco & Chicago. You won’t be getting burritos the size of your head or Chinese take-​out sized servings for $ 5 at a Thai place. If I remember correctly, there was a crappy Thai place on 130 in another mall with a buffet filled with tired pad thai and Chinese food. There’s another buffet Chinese/​Thai next to Abhiruchi, which has changed names at least 5x since 2008. If you’re going for quantity, it was in the mall with the Farm Market. There’s also super-​greasy and rude Thai in Princeton, but the prices are similar, or bland Thai in Hopewell, with higher prices.
Good food isn’t always cheap, but if you consider large quantities of disgusting slop «value», don’t come here, as you’ll be sorely disappointed.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The staff are friendly, the atmosphere is surprisingly pleasant, and take-​out orders are filled quickly. As some other Unilocalers have noted, Tom Yum Goong II makes a significant contribution to restaurant diversity in East Windsor. On the other hand, the skill in preparation varies from dish to dish, and this makes me hesitate about paying prices that are relatively high for the area.
Some of the dishes have quite authentic Thai flavors (based on my having lived in Thailand and eaten at local restaurants). Their pad see iew is a pretty good version of this typical dish, and the ingredients were fresh. Other entrees have been watered down for American palates, or more unforgivably, have been simplified in their preparation. For example, I’m used to pad ka prow having chicken that is finely minced or ground to create a lot of surface area, then stir-​fried with a generous amount of basil to create an intense flavor. At Tom Yum Goong II, large chunks of chicken were swimming in brown sauce with just a little basil and not much flavor. Meh.
I definitely will eat here again when I feel like splurging, but I will be careful about which dishes I order.

Hightstown is seriously lacking in diverse cuisines so I was quite surprised to find a pretty authentic Thai restaurant here… and in a Target strip mall no less!
The décor is very inviting; warm earthy tones, tasteful decoration, and clean. The servers were very polite, soft spoken, and helpful in recommending dishes.
The dishes that our server recommended were tasty. The satay had a nice mild curry flavor and came with 2 dipping sauces. The golden pouches had a pleasant crunch and went well with the tangy sauce. The seafood red curry came with fresh vegetables. I thought the dish was a bit too sweet but the shrimp and scallop were cooked perfectly. The crazy noodle had a nice flavor and cooked nicely.
My mom is not an adventurous eater and is a Thai novice but enjoyed everything we ordered. Although the prices were on the high side, it was a pleasant dining experience. Definitely somewhere I would feel comfortable entertaining family.

This place is very expensive for what it is. $ 14+ for entrees, $ 7+ for appetizers/​soups.
I went with a group of four, and two of the entrees came out of the kitchen tepid, the other two steaming hot. There was only one other table of people in the restaurant at the time. Once my massaman curry was re-​heated, the beef was chewy, and the ingredients just weren’t very good quality for the price. The flavor of the curry sauce was pretty smooth and tasty, but not very spicy at all despite being marked as spicy on the menu. My two friends seemed to enjoy their food, but my boyfriend and I were seriously disappointed.
The service was severely lacking. After we got our food, the waiter just completely disappeared.
The décor was simple and elegant, and the dining room was nicely sunlit.
I’d consider eating here again if the entrees were cheaper, but otherwise, I’ll pass.

Moving to East Windsor from NYC was a pretty tough transition, especially because I was desperately missing Thai food. We had tried another local place but it wasn’t necessarily hitting the spot.
Once Tom Yum Goong opened, we were so relieved! Tasty, non greasy, fresh Thai food! We’ve gone back about four or five times now, and each time was a pleasurable experience.
The dish I always get to test a restaurant is the Pad Ka Prow. You can tell a lot by a place’s spicy chili basil sauce. I was very pleased to see that the veggies were crisp and the sauce was light. Also, when you ask for spicy, you actually get spicy! We’ve had the panang duck (amazingly crispy), tried several of the curries, and many of the appetizers. Overall, the curries are on the mild side, but the flavors are nice and clean.
I’m always happy to support a local business, and I think that this is one worth going back to again and again.

My friend and I had dinner here on Saturday night. We got there around 7pm and the place was packed. We waited 5 minutes for a table. She had mentioned that the original location had burned down and that this location was the replacement. The interior is clean and has a nicer ambiance than typical Asian restaurants.
We got the tom yum soup to start. It wasn’t spicy enough so my friend added more pepper flakes. We shared the green curry with chicken and lad nar. The green curry was perfect and all the veggies were crisp, colorful, and fresh. We weren’t a fan of lad nar and will probably stick to pad see ewe from now on… It was really sweet and the sauce was too starchy. Portions are reasonable — in no means generous. Pricing is also on the higher side.
From the way things sound (and looked), this must be one of the best Thai places in the area.