Tiger Noodles

Tiger Noodles is one of our favorite Princeton restaurants, and one we find ourselves visiting very often. We are definitely 'regulars' and have always been greeted with relentless friendliness and politeness. We love their menu and visit here much more frequently than the other Chinese food establishments in town. It could be the friendly welcome and the excellent food that pulls us in again and again.

Tiger Noodles on Nassau Street has two dining rooms and an outdoor area for dining in the summer months. This is the original, very busy in-town restaurant with a thriving take-out business, very large in reputation. Tiger Noodles also offers take-out for Princeton University students, and have food and tables at outdoor events around Princeton. This is a restaurant of hard-working, loyal employees who are always big on affection. They always remember our family and cheerfully ask about us all, something one might think 'impossible' to find in a place the size of Princeton.

The food is always delicious, and since we often have the same dishes, the staff tend to remember what we want, even to the extent of asking before we place our order, for the soups and scallion pancakes! They also do everything we ask, whether it's asking for an extra bowl of sauce or withholding ice cubes and scallions for my daughter. Generosity prevails in portion size and vegetables, always fresh. Their meat and fish dishes are superbly tasty and pleasingly arrayed in serving platters. Their colorful dishes are amusingly named, "purple action", our secret code for their classic, slow-cooked eggplant dish and "Lover's Nest" creations with mouth-watering beef and chicken. "Creaky chicken", the "Dragon and Phoenix" and the "Happy Family" are all worth trying. Their menu is always reliably delicious and filling.

The owners, Huey Yang et al, have several restaurants in the Princeton area with similar menus in different locations. They have Tiger Noodles, our most frequently visited in town close to the Blue Point Grill (across the street). They also own Ya-Ya Noodles in the Montgomery Shopping Center with a suburban, carpeted and relaxed ambiance which I also love. There are tables for large groups and Asian artifacts, even bubble tea. So you have the choice of one that is frenetic, while always respectful, and the other that is more relaxing. Then there is also a new location on Route 1 with Asian artifacts, with the same wonderfully familiar menu and excellent, attentive and quick service.

Tiger Noodles insists on simple payment by cash, while other locations also accept credit cards. All locations offer easy nearby outdoor parking. Walk-in traffic is fine any day of the week. So often we love this welcoming warm and cozy place to rest and eat, to look around and have fun in a friendly part of the universe.

http://yayanoodles.com/