7/31/2019 The Press Club's Executive Chef Marcel Isaak in HighLife May 2012

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during his stint at the latter that he was able to co-writethe book The Food of Vietnam: Authentic Recipes fromthe Heart of Indochina published by Periplus Editions(HK) Ltd. (1997) with Trieu Thi Choi.

Incidentally, Isaak has also written books on the ood oIndonesia as well as a separate one on the ood o Bali.

The opportunity to live and work in Hanoi soon pre-sented itsel to Isaak, so together with his wie andyoung daughter, they relocated and have never lookedback since.

Despite the name, the Press Club does not cater ex-clusively to the Hanoi media. It started outand contin-ues to bethe hangout o various expats working at thenearby oces and embassies.

It was a place where expats could get their ll o con-tinental cuisine like steaks and deli items, Isaak said.

When he rst joined the restaurant, however, theprocurement and arrival o supplies was erratic and letmuch to be desired. There would be times when theche had to orego a certain dish rom the menu be-cause he ound the quality o the supplies delivered thatday wanting. Instead o preparing the dish that evening,he would scrap it altogether.

One would think that a che with the talent, time and -nancial backing to come out with a book on Vietnameseood would eventually open a Vietnamese restaurant.With Marcel Isaak, executive che at the Press Club inHanoi, thats not necessarily true.

Seven and a hal years ago, he joined the restaurantthat had been open or roughly the same number oyears. Prior to that, however, he worked at a Hilton prop-erty and then later at the Saigon Floating Hotel. It was

taste: hanoi restaurantSuppliers would quarrel among themselves but I

think it ostered a healthy sense o competition whereour guests ended up being the winners, Isaak said.

Fortunately, Hanoi is blessed with abundant seaoodso we were able to tap this. Ater the initial struggleswith our suppliers we have managed to become goodpartners with every one o them. In act, Im not averseto recommending them to other restaurants, he added.

With things running smoothly, the che said theynow only serve the reshest ood o the highest qual-ity. This has not gone unnoticed by the more afuentVietnamese that now make up 20 per cent o their mar-ket. Apparently, the locals love their meat and oten booka table at the Press Club i they want to t reat themselvesto USDA steak or succulent lamb rom Australia.

The Press Club is located at the corner o 59A Ly Thai

To and 12 Ly Dao Thanh Streetsin Hanoi, Vietnam. To reserve atable, call (+84-4) 3934-0888 orax (+84-4) 3934-0899. For moreinormation, visit their websiteat www.hanoi-pressclub.com.RAOUL CHEE KEEv

The Festival will also wel-come two French lm direc-

tors: Stphane Rybojad, who

is coming to Manila or the

premiere screening o his

action lm, Special Forces,

to be released commercially

by Pioneer Films, and Olivier

Assayas, who is accompany-ing a retrospective o his

lms that will be shown in

the estival.

In addition, a orum will be

organized to acilitate ex-

changes between the French

directors with local lmmak-

sight:rench flm estival

ers at the Cultural Center o

the Philippines and the UP

lm Institute.

The Citi-Rustans French

Film Festival will run rom

June 8 to 17 at the Shangri-

La Plaza in Metro Manila,

then at the Ayala Center in

Cebu rom June 22 to 24.

The screenings are ree,

as part o the French cul-

tural program, Francophil,

courtesy o the Embassy oFrance to the Philippines,

Alliance Francaise in Manila

and Cebu, Shangri-La Plaza,

Citibank, Rustans, and Total

Philippines. For more inor-

mation, visit www.amba-

rance-ph.org.v

Let: A scene rom the multi-

awarded black-and-white si-

lent flm, The Artist, directedby Michel Hazanavicius.

The French Film Festival is

one o the most awaited

lm events in the country.Now on its 17th year o bring-

ing the best o contempo-

rary French cinema to the

Filipino audience, the French

Film Festival (now called

Citi-Rustans French Film

Festival) opens on June 7 at

the Shang Cineplex.

Opening the estival will

be the multi-awarded French

lm, The Artist. The black-and-

white silent lm by Michel

Hazanavicius won more than

a hundred awards and nomi-

nations in international esti-vals, including Oscars or Best

Motion Picture, Best Director,

Best Leading Actor or Jean

Dujardin, Best Original Score

or Ludovic Bource, and Best

Costume Design or Mark

Bridges.

sight: blindsMotorized curtains topbill

the contemporary line o

Italian-designed oce and

home urniture at La Vida

Verde Home Furnishing,

one o a handul o local

stores to oer motor-

ized curtains. To shut

out the aternoon glare

or nosy neighbors, one

can now open and close

heavy drapes, foor-length

blinds, ancy shades and

other window coverings

with a press o a button.

Motorized curtains are also

recommended or rooms

installed with a home the-ater system.

Top-o-the-line motorized

curtains oten do not need

to be in the line o sight o

their curtains in order to be

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luxury brands o motor-

ized curtains have a wide

choice o abrics and prints

to match a rooms decor. La

Vida Verdes abrics or its

curtains are sourced rom

Turkey and Germany while

the blinds are manuac-

tured locally. Print designs

number more than 300 (or

abrics) and over 60 (or

both polyester and abric

blinds).

The La Vida Verde show-

room is located at Crescent

Park Residences, corner

o 2nd and 30th Streets inBoniacio Global C ity. They

also have a store located

at 777 Ongpin St., Binondo,

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oers motorized curtains

and blinds. For inquiries,

call (632) 478-2170. v