Long time Pattaya residents Achim von Geiso and his wife Wilawan have just opened a new restaurant called Suan Beer, a direct translation from its Thai name, and one that can also be transliterated into “Beer Garden” or even “Biergarten”.
This new venue is only a little way out from the center of Pattaya, being in the general Cholchan resort area. Coming from Pattaya on Sukhumvit Road, pass Cholchan on your left and then Toyota and do a U-Turn before the “Welcome to Pattaya” over bridge. Coming back towards Pattaya look for the Mazda showroom on the corner of Sukhumvit Pattaya Soi 9 and turn left. Head down this soi and you can see the brightly lit Suan Beer at the end. However, beware of speed bumps on the way down.
The restaurant has two main areas. There is an air-conditioned room at the back, but the main section is a rustic “garden” which is under a high clear plastic roof, with refectory tables and benches (with pillows) and surrounded by ornamental trees and bushes. Along one side of the garden area is the kitchen and bar.
Despite the warm days recently, we found that the garden area with its very high roof allowed cooling breezes to come through, so we opted for the garden.
The menu showed that the main thrust of the cuisine is towards European, though there is an equally large Thai section. The Euro one begins with four soups (B. 90-120) including a Hungarian Goulash. These are followed by four salads (B. 70-160), but the Chef’s salad at the top end has literally everything.
The next section is simply named “Sausages” (B. 90-250) with nine varieties with different presentations. If you know your sausages, then there is for example, Thueringer, a Curried Vienna, Nuremberger, Schuebli and Chorizo.
The sausages are followed by appetizers (B. 50-140) and then mains (B. 195-220) which includes pork knuckle done in two ways, chicken and pork escalopes and a couple of cordon bleu items. These are followed by several pages of Thai items.
The wine list includes bottles from selected vineyards in Chile, Italy and Spain with the prices around B. 1,000 and below, plus a selection of open wines (mainly German). Beers are also inexpensive with a good selection of local and imported beers.
We began with the salad with chicken breast for Madame and the Schuebli sausage for me. The portions were very large and well prepared with the salad dressing being particularly good, and in the correct proportions.
After a break while we sipped our beers (the Bitburger grows on you), we lined up for our second courses. Madame had ordered the pla goong from the Thai menu and she was very happy with her choice.
I had decided to try the pork knuckle with home fries and sauerkraut and was presented with the largest plate you could ever imagine, laden with food. There are two sizes for the pork knuckle - single B. 220, or double B. 390. The dish pictured is the double portion, and the single is large - but the double is just enormous! Beautifully cooked, tender pork and all the crackling. A fabulous meal (and a half)!
We truly enjoyed our meals at Suan Beer, and we literally stuffed ourselves beyond the wildest imagination. Unless you have a huge appetite, I would suggest you only order one dish and then see how you go from there. The staff were certainly very attentive and my request for a take-home pack was tended to immediately. I was not the first to find his eyes were bigger than his stomach!
Of note was the fact that Madame, a highly accomplished cook of Thai food herself, gave the Thai menu full marks as well. So often, the Thai food choices are limited, and obviously not given much thought. This is definitely not the case at Suan Beer, with even some Isan dishes for your partner.
A fun venue, great food and inexpensive. Highly recommended.
Suan Beer (Biergarten), Sukhumvit Soi 9 (near Mazda and opposite Toyota showrooms) telephone 038 702 431, www.beergarden-pattaya.com, email info@ beergarden-pattaya.com, open Tuesday-Sunday from 4 p.m. until late (closed Mondays). Plenty of on-street parking.

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Vietnamese chicken in sweet sauce

Vietnamese food seems to be growing in popularity these days. This typically Vietnamese dish is a distant cousin to the Thai Gai Prio Waan (sweet and sour chicken) but is simpler to make. The original authentic recipe calls for Vietnamese fish sauce, which is more pungent than the Thai equivalent, and I recommend using the Tiparos Thai variety. Give yourself 10 minutes for preparation time and 15 minutes for cooking.

Cooking Method Cube the chicken (2 cm) and dry in a towel. Heat the oil in the wok and rapidly stir-fry the chicken until brown on all sides. Add the garlic, spring onions, sugar and a dash of salt and pepper. Stir for two minutes and then add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to the boil and add fish sauce and then simmer gently until the liquid is reduced to six tablespoons. Add the bean sprouts and stir through and serve immediately with steamed rice, garnishing with the chopped coriander leaf.

Ingredients                             Serves 4
Chicken breast cubed                   500 gm
Spring onions, chopped                 4
Garlic, crushed                             1 clove
Fish sauce                                   2 tbspns
Sugar                                          1 tbspn
Cooking oil                                   2 tbspns
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Bean sprouts                                50 gm
Coriander, chopped                       1 tbspn (garnish)