Cafe Yum Yum - Durham

This restaurant is a lovely spot for dining. I ordered the lunch special with red curry chicken and a small shrimp tom yum soup, and both were delicious. They weren't too spicy, which I appreciated. I also tried the Thai tea (though I forgot to take a picture). It was great as well. The prices were reasonable for the quality of food. I'm from the city and have had a disappointing experience at another Thai restaurant in North Carolina that didn't feel authentic. However, this place did not disappoint at all!

The food was excellent! We had a slight wait because there were only two staff members working, but once they noticed us, they were very friendly. The meal itself was fantastic, and the portions were generous. I will definitely be coming back!

TL;DR Get the Por Pia, Fresh Shrimp Basil Roll, Pad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, any of the curries, or peanut sauce beloved. Avoid Tom Yum soup and the Pad spicy chili. Apparently there 's a character limit on Google reviews, so you 're missing out on the long preface about Lowes messing up our appliance delivery, but that 's why we ate at Thai Spoon every day for a few weeks. We wrote down a rating (1 5 for each meal, which I 'll share below. But first, a few words about the owner. After the first few days, he started throwing in free soup with my order. When I said we also like spring rolls (cough cough he was, WAIT RIGHT THERE and got me some. I 'm sure he appreciated the business in the middle of the pandemic, but that was just going above and beyond. Most of the entrees can be made vegetarian (and probably vegan Appetizers Por Pia (spring rolls 5 stars. These are really good. The stuffing is fresh, and the outside is crispy. It comes with three medium small rolls. Crispy Tofu 4 stars. It 's just fried tofu with a good dipping sauce, but it 's a pretty large dish, so good value. Fresh Shrimp Basil Roll 5 stars. Pro tip you can ask to substitute tofu for shrimp. These are absolutely delicious and might be my favorite thing on the menu. Only downside is they are pretty pricey for the amount of food you get. Tempura 3.5 stars. Vegetarians, sub tofu for shrimp. This is a large dish, but it 's just ok. It 's kind of greasy and bland, but I think that 's just how tempura is? It 's the same as any other tempura I 've had. Crispy mushroom 4 stars. This is basically the same dish as the tempura, but with mushrooms. It 's much worse value though, so if you 're in the mood for something fried, I would go with the tempura. Soup Tom Yum – 1 star. This was NOT GOOD. I can’t say what it was exactly that we didn’t like, but both my partner and I were like “uh uh, no, not eating that.” Tom Kha – 4.5 stars. This was much better. Generous servings of tofu, and the broth is excellent. Clear glass noodle – 4 stars. Ask to make vegetarian. Really good at first, and would have been 5 stars. The owner warned me that I needed to mix thoroughly, because the salt would settle at the bottom. I did mix, a lot, and it was great. But when I had leftovers, it was WAY too salty. So I guess mix often and try to eat it all at once. Noodle and Rice Pad Thai – 5 stars. One of the best dishes. Just perfect in every way. Pad Kee Mow – 4 stars. Still very good, not as flavorful as some of the other dishes. Pad Z Ew – 4.5 stars. It was 5 the first time we got it, but the second time it wasn’t as good. Pad Woon Sen – 4.5 stars. My partner said 4, but I thought it was tasty. All the noodle dishes are kind of similar though, hard to compare. Thai Fried Rice – 5 stars. Just perfect. Spicy Basil Fried Rice – 3 stars. There was something about the spicy ingredient that just wasn’t good, it ruined the other flavors. Curry Entrees Mussamun curry – 4 stars. The sauce was AMAZING and by far the best of the curries, but the veggies were bad. The avocado tasted really weird (I don’t think avocado belongs in soup, but what do I know? , and the cashews had a weird taste and texture too. Panang curry – 4.5 stars. This one was a bit too spicy for me, but my partner loved it. Green curry – 4.5 stars. Same as above. Yellow curry – 4.5 stars. This one was not too spicy, and the potatoes were delicious! But the sauce wasn’t as flavorful. Stir fry entrees Broccoli garlic – 4 stars. Pretty good, nothing earth shattering though. Spicy basil – 4 stars. Same. Pad Khing – 4.5 stars. My partner said it was kind of boring, but I disagree. Sweet and sour – 4 stars. Pretty decent sweet and sour. Pad Spicy Chili – 1.5 stars. NOT GOOD. It just tasted like chili peppers and nothing else. Spicy eggplant – 3 stars. The eggplant just wasn’t doing it for us. Peanut Sauce Beloved – 4.5 stars. This dish has a weird name, but it’s delicious Spicy cashew nut – 4.5 stars. Too spicy for me, my partner liked it. Veggies together – 3.5 stars. I think this one was just boring.

The reviews don't truly capture how amazing this place is! The coconut soup was incredibly flavorful, and the red curry was the best I've had in North Carolina. The pad see ew and spicy cashew nuts were also outstanding. I will definitely be back often!

Absolutely my favorite triangle thai restaurant. the personal is so beautiful and the litchi duck curry is so delicious