The Good Life Restaurant and Pub has the unusual motto “You can’t get hurt”. It appears that one of the partners in this new business venture on Soi 20 Pattaya-Naklua Road owned a restaurant in Texas called (you guessed it) The Good Life Restaurant and Pub, and the reference to not getting hurt was something to do with falling off bar stools. Those Texas lads know how to enjoy themselves.
The Naklua version is not hard to find. Take the soi immediately after the Woodlands Resort (Soi 20) and around 200 meters down on the left hand side is The Good Life Restaurant and Pub (where nobody gets hurt) in the precinct of the Beach Garden Resort. You cannot miss it.
There had been a restaurant in that location before, but that closed down almost six months ago, and the lease was snapped up by the new owner John Eden and partners, soft opening in August, and having the grand opening last weekend. There are also plans for developing the restaurant, balconies and fine-tuning the menu, but for now it is certainly up and running.
The restaurant overlooks the tropical Beach Garden Resort swimming pool and has a performers area at one end (used nightly), and a bar along one side. The center area is raised slightly above the street-side dining balcony. With a very high roof and plenty of fans to shift the air, we were not at all hot.
The menu begins with breakfasts, as The Good Life supplies the early breakfasts for the Garden Beach Resort and another couple of hotels in the area. The Continental is B. 90, while the American breakfast is B. 140. There is also a breakfast buffet for those who wish, up till 11 a.m.
Soups are of two styles - cream or consomm้, and all at B. 80. Appetizers and salads range between B 80-110 and include a mixed seafood cocktail and even a Caesar salad.
Burgers and sandwiches are served with french-fries (or crisps) and are B. 100-130 with grilled ham and cheese at the lower end and a cheeseburger at the top end. The club sandwich deserves a special mention, with ham, bacon, chicken, egg and cheese, and they bake their own breads on site.
Pasta and pizzas are available, with a size suitable for one person B. 180, or for two at B. 260, with the Chicken Alfredo being an American item not often seen in Thailand.
Grills are on offer B. 180-290 covering chicken and local and imported meats. We tried the local sirloin which comes with a choice of sauces including an interesting paprika version, and it was well cooked and not tough.
With seafood (B. 250), you have a choice of grilled salmon, fried sea bass or grilled rock lobster with herb butter sauce with a baked potato.
The Thai items are next up with appetizers all B. 90 including spring rolls, shrimp cakes and spicy minced salad. There are three spicy soups - tom kha, tom yum and tom jued all B. 150.
Still with me? It’s a large menu - there is a page of curries and stir-fries (B. 110-120) then some single dishes (B. 45-70) and then some fusion style ‘specials’, then German items (around B. 200) and finally some Filipino dishes (B. 150-280) including adobos.
We went at lunchtime and the restaurant supplied us with a number of dishes, covering Western, American, Thai, German and Filipino items. All were of a similar standard, but for me, the Filipino spring rolls were most pleasant, while Madame enjoyed the deep-fried pork knuckle with spicy papaya salad, a Thai-German fusion dish. The serving was enormous, and incredible value at B. 250.
The Good Life Restaurant and Pub is in a good location and is serving good sized portions at very reasonable prices. A New Zealand T-bone for B. 290 could not be considered expensive. With entertainment each night and local beers between B. 45-70 (including San Miguel), Thai food as well as western, it is a cheap night out.
The Good Life Restaurant and Pub, 164/9 Soi 20 Pattaya-Naklua Road, telephone 038 371 200-4, fax 038 371 405, open 7 a.m. until midnight seven days, ample on-street parking.

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Nam Sod (Thai Spicy Pork Salad)

This week’s recipe is a traditional Thai salad. It is a spicy salad, but you can decrease the amount of chilies if desired. Great with cold beer!

Ingredients                          serves 6 Ground pork very lean               2 cups Salt                                         1 tspn Ginger finely chopped                1 tspn Lime juice                                 6 tbspns Roasted peanuts                       ½ cup Chopped red onions                   ½ cup Red chilies coarsely chopped     1 tbspn Lettuce and cabbage leaves, washed and dried

Cooking Method
Combine ground pork, salt and lime juice. Place in a piece of clean and moderately dampened muslin or cheesecloth. Squeeze many times to extract as much liquid from the pork as possible. Reserve this pork liquid in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until only about three tablespoons remain. Add the ground pork and cook just until it is no longer pink.
Remove from the heat and sprinkle peanuts, ginger, onions and chilies. Toss together lightly and set aside. Arrange lettuce and cabbage leaves in a serving dish and spoon the pork salad into the center. Serve immediately as an appetizer with the lettuce and cabbage leaves.