Tom Yum Goong : “Tom” meant to “To Boil” in Thai word, “Yum” meant to “food which have herb , sour and spicy to be the main taste of the dish” “Goong” meant to “Shrimp”
So “Tom Yum Goong” is a Thai dishes which be made as soup with herb smell, spicy and sour are the main taste, and use shrimp to be meat of the dishes.
Surely, Tom Yum Goong which be cooked for foreigner will be different from the real Tom Yum Goong in Thai daily eating, which be more spicy and also, the herb smell is so stronger.
In fact, when you say “Tom Yum Goong” , it’s meant to “Tom Yum” which use “Goong” [shrimp] to be meat in the dish, but if you say shorter as “Tom Yum” , it will be meant to one kind of Thai soup which no specific kind of meat to use in that dish; so you can add or say ”Pla” [fish], “Mhoo” [pork] or “Talay” [sea food] or else , after the word “Tom Yum” to the waiter in any Thai restaurant and get the same tase of Tom Yum Soup in variety kind of meat as you want in that meal [the picture below is " Tom Yum Talay" : the sea food soup with squid, shell and shrimp to be meat of the dish].