Well....mostly badminton unrelated...just my adventure in Guangzhou yesterday with the INA coach and players. So, don't read this if you are not interested :p

Yup...it was indeed an unforgettable day for me! Originally, I was planning not to go to GZ because I still have yet to recover from my jet-lag due to the recent trip to the US. Even on Friday, I was still not sure because I personally think that all INA players would have lost by then. Incredibly, two INA MD pairs progressed to the semi-final. So, I promised my friend that I will go either on Saturday night or Sunday early morning. I was still affected by the jet-lag on Saturday afternoon as I felt incredibly tired after work and decided to nap before watching the semi-finals live on my laptop, instead of going over to Shenzhen and watch there. Kido/Hendra ended up winning their match, so, I decided to go to GZ the next morning to watch my dream match: Kido/Hendra against the current World Champion Fu/Cai.

I woke up at 7:30am, showered and packed up for GZ. I was out from my home at 8 and arrived in GZ almost 3 hrs later at 11am. My friend picked me up from GZ East Station and we went to an Indonesian restaurant (Pandan) for lunch. The food there was surprisingly good (no wonder my sis, who also used to stay in GZ, went to this restaurant very often). We ordered satay, rendang, and kangkung. The total bill was really cheap (probably even cheaper than JKT)...at RMB 71...a far cry from what I have to pay in HKG (usually 250 for 2 ppl) :eek:

Home food was really good as I had not had any good meals since I came back from the States. So, with a bloated stomach, me and my friend marched towards TianHe Stadium, the venue of the Final. My friend managed to get a journalist pass for me, so, we managed to sit in the VIP section, just beside the CCTV commentators :D So, if anyone of u managed to hear any cheers or shoutings in Indo, it had to be me! I was cheering quite loudly, till all the Chinese fans in front of me looked a little annoyed, esp when Fu/Cai was losing :cool: Ko Herry IP (the men's doubles coach) also mentioned to me that even he could hear my cheers and shouts...geez.....I didn't know I had such a "powerful" cheer :o

I was basically not paying that much attention to the first 4 finals, except maybe for Bao Chunlai vs Chen Hong (closing stage of the second set). All the other finals were finished in double quick time..which was good for me!! So, the main event finally came...the men's doubles final between Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun and Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan. I immediately sat straight and paid close attention to the match. Of course, I shouted and cheered every time the INA pair won a point (Loh will have known that since he sat beside me in the SIS..hehe...:D) Fu/Cai were finding it difficult to play their normal game and they were quickly behind 11-7 at the interval. The lead extended to 18-11 soon after as the INA pair really played well, forcing the Chinese pair to make lots of mistakes. Kido/Hendra wrapped the first set 21-16.

The first stage of the second set was close...with both pairs exchanging services until it was 9-8 to Fu/Cai. Then, Kido/Hendra got 3 straight points to lead 11-9 at the interval. From then on, they totally controlled the game until it was 18-13. At this moment, Kido was faulted when it could well have been 19-13. Instead, it's now 18-14. The INA pair looked a little bit affected by the call and they lost another point to make it 18-15. However, they regained their composure and only allowed Fu/Cai to get another point. The score was also 21-16 in the second set. I was really excited and being the only one that was happy because of the result of the match made it even sweeter...hehe....all the other fans sitting in front and besides me were looking at me :o

After the prize presentation, my friend brought me outside the player's changing rooms. We immediately met Kido and Hendra. So, I asked them whether it's okay to get a picture taken with them. They agreed but they need to change first. So, we waited for a while outside and we actually bumped into a number of players. My friend (a Chinese) wanted to take a pic with Chen Hong, but, to no avail :cool: Similarly, there were Bao Chunlai, Zhang Ning, Fu Haifeng, and Cai Yun. Bao and Fu/Cai were looking gloomy :cool: At the end, we only managed to get our photos taken with Kido/Hendra + Ko Herry IP.

Later, I asked them what's their plan tonight? They said that they had nothing to do, so, I decided to take them out for a Shicuanese cuisine :D Me and my friend parted ways. He wanted to join us, but, he had to go back with his auntie to HKG at night. So, I ended up joining Kido/Hendra + Ko Herry in their bus, back to their hotel (the newly opened Ramada Hotel).

Stay tuned if you want to find out more about what happened later on....:D

quick quick.. tell us more :D

also, don't forget to post the pix! ;)

Here's the picture taken with Ko Herry IP and Kido/Hendra.

U cut ur hair? heheheh

kido always look so serious

Damn, I'm so jealous that you got to hang out with INA players!

Well....mostly badminton unrelated...just my adventure in Guangzhou yesterday with the INA coach and players. So, don't read this if you are not interested :p
..badMania, nice little recap story of your trip there...sounds really fun!(sorry, rest of story snipped for brevity)..
One funny thing i found whilst reading was when you mentioned that "Home food was really good as I had not had any good meals since I came back from the States"..Seriously, did you really have a good "home food cooking" while visiting the U.S.(must be in S.F. heh??)..Either the food really tasted different(in U.S. or Guangzhou) or you were very2 hungry..:confused: :rolleyes::p ;) :D And since you mentioned that, i wouldn't be surprised if there are also other delicious cuisines from S'pore or Malaysia or Thai around GZ?!?!.. ;):cool:

Seriously, did you really have a good "home food cooking" while visiting the U.S.(must be in S.F. heh??)..Either the food really tasted different(in U.S. or Guangzhou) or you were very2 hungry..:confused: :rolleyes::p ;) :D And since you mentioned that, i wouldn't be surprised if there are also other delicious cuisines from S'pore or Malaysia or Thai around GZ?!?!.. ;):cool:

On the contrary...I wasn't having good meals while I was in the US and subsequently after I came back to HKG (lost my apetite + jet lag) :mad: I had mostly express Chinese food while I was in SF (the Panda Express...hehe :D). While it tasted ok (nothing spectacular), it's nothing compared to food in either SG or Indo. I still remembered when I visited the Chinatown in SF, I had really awful food in one of the restaurant there!! I actually left before I finished the whole thing and paid $13!!

That is why I said that nothing tasted better than "home food". The meal in GZ was the first meal in which I actually felt full and satisfied.

Interesting sharing Bad Mania!! So, how's the story later on???? haha.....

kido always look so serious
and hendra always looks so innocent and a bit lost,hahaha

I envy you so much!! Why can you join them in their bus and back to their hotel?? I can't get close to them that night! I can only wave my hand to say goodbye outsaid the bus!:crying: I didn't have a chance to say "congratulations"!!:crying:

Did you have a talk with Hendra?? It seems he isn't used to smile when facing the camera:rolleyes: ,cool....

My friend and I did support Kido/Hendra, but I haven't noticed you a strong fan of them.:D if not, we could support them together! Yeah, we did look strange when giving applause to Kido/Hendra, nearly all the other fans supported chinese.:(

Is Kido older than Hendra? :D When was Hendra born exactly?:p
He is so cute...

both of them are born in august 1984...kido is older than hendra by a few days

Shicuanese cuisine? as in one of the cities in China where people eat mainly very hot and spicy hotpots?

i rmb.. got 1 pair of ina players.. 1 of them representing US.. is dat them??? if yes y did dis hapepn??

My friend and I did support Kido/Hendra, but I haven't noticed you a strong fan of them.:D if not, we could support them together! Yeah, we did look strange when giving applause to Kido/Hendra, nearly all the other fans supported chinese.:(

Oo...I didn't realise you and your friends were supporting the INA pair as well :eek:

There was a fan who managed to get into the bus to get a signature...was that you :cool: ?

both of them are born in august 1984...kido is older than hendra by a few days

Yup...these are their DOBs:
Markis Kido 11/08/1984
Hendra Setiawan 25/08/1984

Kido is 2 weeks older than Hendra :D

I envy you so much!! Why can you join them in their bus and back to their hotel?? I can't get close to them that night! I can only wave my hand to say goodbye outsaid the bus!:crying: I didn't have a chance to say "congratulations"!!:crying:

Did you have a talk with Hendra?? It seems he isn't used to smile when facing the camera:rolleyes: ,cool....

Hehe...I "forced" my way into the bus :p

Yup, I was watching Man U vs Liverpool in Kido/Hendra's room. Luluk also came over to watch with us. In the other room, Alvent was alone, downloading some songs into his Nano.

Later in the night, Taufik popped over to confirm with them on the schedule to Changsha on Monday morning.

On the contrary...I wasn't having good meals while I was in the US and subsequently after I came back to HKG (lost my apetite + jet lag) :mad: I had mostly express Chinese food while I was in SF (the Panda Express...hehe :D). While it tasted ok (nothing spectacular), it's nothing compared to food in either SG or Indo. I still remembered when I visited the Chinatown in SF, I had really awful food in one of the restaurant there!! I actually left before I finished the whole thing and paid $13!!

That is why I said that nothing tasted better than "home food". The meal in GZ was the first meal in which I actually felt full and satisfied.
..i see, i see..:)
..yikes!!..:eek: .wow, sorry, didn't realize the taste was totally different than what you're used to(eventhough you ate @ 1 of SF's Chinatown's restaurant).:confused: :p .
.Well, next time, when you visit U.S., swing by SoCal instead...Maybe the food'll taste "a bit better" here..hehe;):rolleyes: :p :) :D

Oo...I didn't realise you and your friends were supporting the INA pair as well :eek:

There was a fan who managed to get into the bus to get a signature...was that you :cool: ?

I hope that was I ! I saw that,too. I think he is an interpretor?:confused: no idea
In fact I wanted to follow him to the bus...but it's impossible:crying:

verinee, BadMania, thx for your kind information:D

i rmb.. got 1 pair of ina players.. 1 of them representing US.. is dat them??? if yes y did dis hapepn??

Nope, the pair u were talking about is Tony(US)/Chandra(INA). They are the champion of japan open recently, but I believe they didn't go to china open.
The pair u saw in the pic is Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan (INA).;)

can u tell us more? :D very interesting ....

badMania,

did you invite all these players to badminton central? do they know about badminton central? do they read badminton central?

Hehe...I "forced" my way into the bus :p

Yup, I was watching Man U vs Liverpool in Kido/Hendra's room. Luluk also came over to watch with us. In the other room, Alvent was alone, downloading some songs into his Nano.

Later in the night, Taufik popped over to confirm with them on the schedule to Changsha on Monday morning.

did you invite all these players to badminton central? do they know about badminton central? do they read badminton central?

I did show them badminton central website. Kido was especially interested in finding out whether there are some pics of him. I helped him to save the pic taken in the China Open 2006 Final (prize presentation ceremony) into Alvent's laptop. All of us laughed when I read out the post about why Luluk/Alvent lost to Fu/Cai on Sat, esp the part when one of you wrote "...because Luluk played bad" :D

Unfortunately, most of them didn't have a good command of English. So, reading the posts in badminton central would be a tough task for them :cool: I have to translate what those posts mean to them, like when it was written "Kido is a flying predator", etc.

Is KIdo THAT vain???? well, I guess he was proud of that achievement, and I was so happy that Fu/Cai lost, not a big Indon supporter, but anyone against China will do!!

I did show them badminton central website. Kido was especially interested in finding out whether there are some pics of him. I helped him to save the pic taken in the China Open 2006 Final (prize presentation ceremony) into Alvent's laptop. All of us laughed when I read out the post about why Luluk/Alvent lost to Fu/Cai on Sat, esp the part when one of you wrote "...because Luluk played bad" :D

Unfortunately, most of them didn't have a good command of English. So, reading the posts in badminton central would be a tough task for them :cool: I have to translate what those posts mean to them, like when it was written "Kido is a flying predator", etc.
hei hei,:D What about Hendra?? Did he keep silent?:p Can he catch the posts in English??

badmania,
You can speak Indonesia. Can u tell me what is the name of the Indonesian restauratn in GZ? Thanks

Nope, the pair u were talking about is Tony(US)/Chandra(INA). They are the champion of japan open recently, but I believe they didn't go to china open.
The pair u saw in the pic is Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan (INA).;)oic..thx 4 replying me.. by da way.. y dey all reprresenting diff countries??

oic..thx 4 replying me.. by da way.. y dey all reprresenting diff countries??

Because Tony has already retired long time ago from the Indonesia's national team. He is now working in the US.

Okay...let me now continue....

The bus journey to the Ramada hotel took about 10-15 mins and I had a nice chat with Ko Herry IP. Meanwhile, Kido and Hendra were busy with their SMSes :D

Back at the hotel, we went up straight to the rooms. Kido and Hendra stayed together, Luluk was with Alvent, Ko Herry and Taufik had 2 other separate rooms. I was introduced to Luluk and then Alvent. They chatted a while about the game between Kido/Hendra and Fu/Cai. Then, I asked them whether they would like to have local Chinese food. Since Indonesians generally can take spicy foods, I decided to bring them to a Shicuanese restaurant near the hotel. Kido and Hendra took showers first while I went with Ko Herry to his room. We chatted on several topics, including the situation in PBSI, about Tony and Candra and some non-badminton stuffs. It was really nice chatting with Ko Herry.

It was time for dinner and before we went off, I showed them the badminton central website on Luluk's computer. They looked very interested and wanted to know what fans have to say about them. Shortly after, we boarded 2 taxis to the restaurant (Tao Ran Ju).

I booked a room with tv and ordered 4 dishes: fish (1.5 pound), rabbit, chicken, and vegetables. It turned out that some of them couldn't bear the Shichuanese food. They were perspiring and kept asking for Coke :eek: Only me, Ko Herry, Alvent, and later on Kido were not "complaining" about the spicyness of our food :D So, it was not a surprise that the vegetable dish became the favorite dish (because it was not even spicy!). To me, the best dish was undoubtedly the fish! It was so fresh and we really finished everything up! The bill was very reasonable too, each person paid less than USD 10 on average (which included the room fee).

After the dinner, we went back to the hotel. Alvent, Kido, and Hendra decided to buy some snacks at the nearby convenience shop. Meanwhile, we also bumped into the Chinese team. It turned out that they were having celebration dinner at the restaurant. Zheng Bo was around in the lobby when we came in and we had a short chat with him. He was a nice guy and friendly. Later on, Ko Herry mentioned that all the Chinese doubles players were in general very friendly with the INA players. That includes Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun.

After the short chat with Zheng Bo, we all went up back to the rooms. The game between Liverpool and Manchester United were on TV and most of us were watching. I went to watch in Kido and Hendra's room, together with Luluk. All of us were supporting MU :D Ko Herry went back to his room, while Alvent was busy downloading songs into his Nano.

Taufik popped in while we were watching and I introduced myself to him :D He stayed for a while in Kido and Hendra's room, flipping over the car magazine that the players bought before coming to China. He was staying together with his wife and they had dinner with some Indonesian Consulate officers at Pandan, the restaurant me and my friend had lunch at before watching the match :cool:

All of us had a nice time watching the game and chatting in between. So, I roughly got to know them better in the short time we had. After the game, we went to Alvent's room and I showed them the badminton central website again. I also told them that they can even download their own games, but, download speed might be slow :cool: They seemed to be quite interested! Kido even said that he wanted to watch he HK Open Final game between him and Hendra vs CTF/LWW!

Soon enough, it was 11pm at night. I decided to stay over at GZ. Ko Herry was gracious enough to have offered the spare bed in his room (double beds). I had a short chat with Ko Herry again before I decided to sleep.

The next morning, a phone call by Hendra woke me up. It was 7:30am and the INA players were ready to go to the airport. They said goodbye to Ko Herry, who would be going back to Jakarta in the afternoon. We continued to sleep until 9am. Ko Herry decided to do some last minute shopping for his wife and kids at Beijing Road, so, I waved goodbye to him.

It was definitely a very unforgettable day for me, getting to know the INA players and Ko Herry. I already have their contact numbers and I will definitely see them again next time! I might even pop by Cipayung when I return back to JKT end of this year or January next year!

I did show them badminton central website. Kido was especially interested in finding out whether there are some pics of him. I helped him to save the pic taken in the China Open 2006 Final (prize presentation ceremony) into Alvent's laptop. All of us laughed when I read out the post about why Luluk/Alvent lost to Fu/Cai on Sat, esp the part when one of you wrote "...because Luluk played bad" :D

Unfortunately, most of them didn't have a good command of English. So, reading the posts in badminton central would be a tough task for them :cool: I have to translate what those posts mean to them, like when it was written "Kido is a flying predator", etc.
Hahahaha, that sound so funny from our side too. Maybe they could pick up some badminton tips from us as well. Glad Luluk laughed instead of getting angry, like hitting u in the name of badmintoncentral:D I wonder if they watch videos of their or competitor games back home. If not, downloading the videos and watch them would see themselves for any improvement.

They actually have their own video camera for recording their games and their opponents games. They usually do the video reviews in the morning or evening.

Okay...let me now continue....
..badMania, thanks for sharing the rest of your adventure with them to us:cool: (sorry again for snipping rest of post for brevity)..it surely sounds like fun, nonetheless;):cool:

Just have a few of "curiousity" questions if you don't mind sharing:

1. When you had some time in your initial conversation with ko Herry(ie. abt current PBSI situation, Tony & Candra), what did you ask him and what did he have to say abt it...

2. (I know i've met/chatted with him before) But when you met up with Taufik, what was your first and last impression of him?? Was he inviting and open to chatting or more reserved, kept more to himself??..:rolleyes:

3. Reading that (Hendra and Luluk) couldn't take the Shicuanese dishes(boy, they must be thanking you for ordering that vege dish),:p:D and i myself haven't tried it myself, but how would you compare the "spicyness" to an Indonesian-regional dish?? Is it spicier than say a Padang dish??(sorry guys, if you some of you don't know what it is)..:p :D ;) ..BTW, are all the foods in that restaurant spicy, without any exceptions??..;)

Last, after reading thru, i get the impression that it was truly a lucky day for you, esp. when you got a "free" accommodation and stayed with ko Herry at the hotel..and then were able to get their contaq infos as well...hehehe;) :) :D :cool:

badMania,

thanks for sharing with us, it surely was an unforgetable experience. it seems like they were all very friendly to you, especially ko henry.

i'm also curious about what taufik said to you after you introduced yourself ...

wow, it seems like taufik was threated a little differently, he and his wife went to dinner with indonesian consulat officer, i'm wondering why hendra, markis, luluk, alvent, and ko henry didn't join the dinner with taufik and his wife :confused:

i'm also curious about what taufik said to you after you introduced yourself ...

wow, it seems like taufik was threated a little differently, he and his wife went to dinner with indonesian consulat officer, i'm wondering why hendra, markis, luluk, alvent, and ko henry didn't join the dinner with taufik and his wife :confused:

Well..Taufik didn't really talk to me after I introduced myself. I only asked him "how is GZ?". He merely replied "okay" :cool:

So, to answer Chris's question, I found Taufik slightly less open to strangers compared to the other players.

Taufik is more well-known to Indonesians, so, it's natural that he will be treated differently :D

1. When you had some time in your initial conversation with ko Herry(ie. abt current PBSI situation, Tony & Candra), what did you ask him and what did he have to say abt it...

3. Reading that (Hendra and Luluk) couldn't take the Shicuanese dishes(boy, they must be thanking you for ordering that vege dish),:p:D and i myself haven't tried it myself, but how would you compare the "spicyness" to an Indonesian-regional dish?? Is it spicier than say a Padang dish??(sorry guys, if you some of you don't know what it is)..:p :D ;) ..BTW, are all the foods in that restaurant spicy, without any exceptions??..;)


To answer each of your questions:
1. Ko Herry was quite open about discussions of PBSI. We talked abt Joko's resignation, the difference in the Sutiyoso era vs earlier ones. He also mentioned that coach was entitled to some bonus each time their players win titles in the previous era. Nowadays, there's no more such things! That's why if you remember the game between Candra/Sigit vs Eriksen/Hansen (IMHO, the best game last year), you can see that Ko Herry was very delighted when the INA pair won! That was because he can also share a certain percentage of the total prize money (which was USD 18,000).

We also talked about Candra and Tony's current situation. Candra is doing quite well (not convenient for me to disclose here what he's exactly involved in). They were very close to Ko Herry, that was why he was willing to coach them in the Korea Open Final.

3. If you have eaten Shichuanese food, you will also understand that the degree of spicyness is very different from Indo's food. It's called "Ma La" (I don't know how to translate in either Indonesian or English). It can be spicier than Padang's style. Imagine having fish boiled in a big bowl of chillies! Most of the food in Shichuanese style are very very spicy. The one I ordered is of medium level ("Zhong La")....not the extremely spicy level ("Te La")! So, I leave u guys to wonder how spicy is the extremely spicy level :p

:D :D haha, thanks for sharing, Badmania!
I am really interested in what Candra is involved in..:) and Sigit..haha

I am also curious about Hendra:D Did you have a talk with him? Is he talkative? or always silent??:D ;)

Good to hear that you are able to share rooms with the players. I used to do that.. even now sometimes. Just can't stand the smell of sweat and their shirt hanging around the room. Hehehe.. neat freak.

To answer each of your questions:
badMania, thank you for sharing some more answers to my inquiries(sorry, rest of post snipped for brevity)...:cool:
Haha, yah, now i can imagine how "spicy" Shicuanese dishes are-thx for describing...I think i can manage the "Zhong la" level and most likely their spiciest, "Te la"..Just don't give me any acidic-type juices(ie. OJ) or any funny drinks, cos i will have a very upset stomach afterwards...hehehe:p:( :D
Actually i've eaten a few of Korean's spiciest dishes also-ie. Yuh-keh-jang(sp?) and of course the ever famous Indonesian dishes with their spiciest chillies-yuummm..hahahaha;):p :eek: :D :cool:
**BTW, does anyone know if they have Shicuanese dish/restaurant(s) in and around S'pore or Kuala Lumpur?? I'd like to try it the next time i visit S'pore and/or KL...hehe;):p:)

**BTW, does anyone know if they have Shicuanese dish/restaurant(s) in and around S'pore or Kuala Lumpur?? I'd like to try it the next time i visit S'pore and/or KL...hehe;):p:)

I think they should have one or two in S'pore (not much though). The best place to have Shichuanese dish is in Shenzhen...lots of restaurants selling it at cheap prices.

Szechuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Sichuan cuisine (Chinese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language): 四川菜 or 川菜) is a style of Chinese cuisine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cuisine) originating in the Sichuan Province (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan) of southern China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China) which has an international reputation for being hot and numbing (麻辣 -- "Ma La", their specialty!!), because of the common ingredient (花椒 -- "Hua Jiao", the chilly!!).

The common ingredient in Szechuan cuisine is Sichuan mala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_mala), or "numbing pepper" is an indigenous plant that produces a fragrant, numbing, almost citrusy spice. Also common are ginger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger) and spicy herbs. This emphasis on spice may derive from the region's warm, humid climate, where people need a good sweat and necessitates sophisticated food-preservation techniques which include pickling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling), salting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salting_%28food%29), drying (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying_%28food%29) and smoking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_%28food%29).

Some well-known Szechuan dishes include Kung Pao chicken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Pao_chicken) and Twice Cooked Pork (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice_Cooked_Pork). Although many dishes live up to their spicy reputation, often ignored are the large percentage of recipes that use little or no hot spices (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice) at all, including dishes such as Tea Smoked Duck (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tea_Smoked_Duck&action=edit).

Note that the Kung Pao chicken (China version) is very different from those that you find in the U.S. Chinese restaurants or express takeouts. It's spicier and really uses that "Hua Jiao"!!

[**BTW, does anyone know if they have Shicuanese dish/restaurant(s) in and around S'pore or Kuala Lumpur?? I'd like to try it the next time i visit S'pore and/or KL...hehe;):p:)[/quote]

Dear ctjcad, the spicyness of Si Chuan Cuisine is totally different from the spicyness of our favorite curry! haha... their spicyness will cause your libs and tougue to become numb! That is the effect of "MA LA"....haha...the "MA" here in chinese word means numbness. I've tried Si Chuan a few times already, I think not many people can get use to the taste of Si chuan cuisine, especially those spicy dishes. I've tried the Si Chuan steamboat before, usually they will put a lot of dried chilli and most of the Si Chuan dish is quite oily as they love to use sesame oil to cook their dish, I can say that the soup of the steamboat or even other dishes are fully covered with Sesame oil and pepper as well ! It's mainly because Si Chuan people living in cool area, so they can take the spicyness of their food easily! Am I right badMania?:p In Singapore, you will be able to find a real original Si Chuan Restaurant in China Town! Do have a try! haha.......;)

Still remember last time I tried the Si Chuan Steamboat, as we scared we can't really take the spicyness, so we ordered half bowl of soup is spicy and another half is chicken herbal soup! haha.... here's the pictures of the steam boat........ you can see all the dried chillies are floating on the soup!!! HOT!!!!!:D

Note that the Kung Pao chicken (China version) is very different from those that you find in the U.S. Chinese restaurants or express takeouts. It's spicier and really uses that "Hua Jiao"!!
(rest of post snipped for brevity)..ahhh, yes, i have tried this type of dish before here in the U.S., but a long time ago..And i'm sure it probably tastes different than its counterpart in mainland China(as is probably most other international dishes served in the U.S.)...haha:p:p :) :D
Hehe, and as far as the kung pao chicken's taste being much more different here in the U.S.'s (restaurants/express takeouts) than in China, hehe, i can imagine..:rolleyes: :p ;) :D ..

Hmmmm yum yum...

In Singapore, you will be able to find a real original Si Chuan Restaurant in China Town! Do have a try! haha.......;)[/FONT]

Still remember last time I tried the Si Chuan Steamboat, as we scared we can't really take the spicyness, so we ordered half bowl of soup is spicy and another half is chicken herbal soup! haha.... here's the pictures of the steam boat........ you can see all the dried chillies are floating on the soup!!! HOT!!!!!:D
..hahaha, tracyleesy, thank you for sharing some more description of the dish...and the pic!!!...It sure looks tempting(eventhough i haven't tasted it yet)..:p:o :(
I will keep that in mind of the restaurant in downtown S'pore the next time i visit..(btw, mind telling me the name of the restaurant??)..hehe:p :o :) ;)

Anyways, sorry folks and badMania for turning this post off topic(as it's getting close to lunch time here also:p)...this thread seems like it has turn into "All About Sichuanese dish" thread..hohoho..:rolleyes: :eek: :p :o :( :D ;)

..hahaha, tracyleesy, thank you for sharing some more description of the dish...and the pic!!!...It sure looks tempting(eventhough i haven't tasted it yet)..:p:o :(
I will keep that in mind of the restaurant in downtown S'pore the next time i visit..(btw, mind telling me the name of the restaurant??)..hehe:p :o :) ;)

Anyways, sorry folks and badMania for turning this off topic...this thread seems like it has turn into "All About Sichuanese dish" thread..hohoho..:rolleyes: :eek: :p :o :( :D ;)
i think there is a thread (or 2) just on talking about foods. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30874&highlight=Sichuan
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8041&highlight=Sichuan:D

Hmmmm yum yum...
..ants, any place near KL where we can try this kind of dish??..hehe;);):p:D :)

i think there is a thread (or 2) just on talking about foods. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30874&highlight=Sichuan
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8041&highlight=Sichuan:D
..thanks, cooler....Man, all these posts are really making me real hungry(and sweaty)..:p:( :crying: :D ;)

haha.....we nearly off topic already! sorry badMania! haha.... in fact, I'm wondering.... how's the INA players able to get used to this kind of food????? haha.........

dear ctjcad, I will let you know the restaurant name as soon as possible after I check it out for you, kay??? haha........or maybe next year we go to have a Si Chuan cuisine first before we attend the WC!!! It helps us to "warm up"!!! haha...........

haha.....we nearly off topic already! sorry badMania! haha.... in fact, I'm wondering.... how's the INA players able to get used to this kind of food????? haha.........

dear ctjcad, I will let you know the restaurant name as soon as possible after I check it out for you, kay??? haha........or maybe next year we go to have a Si Chuan cuisine first before we attend the WC!!! It helps us to "warm up"!!! haha...........
...okay, thank you for doing that, tracyleesy-much appreciated!...hehe;) :cool:
BTW, hopefully brother ants and other BC/BF people joining the WC will come along as well...;):) :D :cool:

I LOVE the "Ma La Huo Guo", which is the hot pot. The pic all of u see is the so-called "Yuan Yang" which consists of two soup base...one spicy and one not. I just had that with my sis and dad here in HKG a couple of weeks back!

My sis, being based in the US...can't take the spicyness. On the other hand, my other sis, based in Zhuhai....is absolutely fond of the food! It does take 2 years of training for her to be accustomed to Chinese local cuisine like Sichuanese or Hunanese (another different kind of spicyness) food :D

I LOVE the "Ma La Huo Guo", which is the hot pot. The pic all of u see is the so-called "Yuan Yang" which consists of two soup base...one spicy and one not. I just had that with my sis and dad here in HKG a couple of weeks back!

My sis, being based in the US...can't take the spicyness. On the other hand, my other sis, based in Zhuhai....is absolutely fond of the food! It does take 2 years of training for her to be accustomed to Chinese local cuisine like Sichuanese or Hunanese (another different kind of spicyness) food :D
..i see, i see...hmmm, still speaking of spicyness, forgot to ask, did you by any chance take some pics of the dishes you had with the players??...Cos i can imagine, most likely *half* of Luluk's and Hendra's dinner intake was liquid(in the form of Coca Cola and ice cubes)..haha:p;):o :D

wow what a nice story incl. introduction of dishes. I believe kido can take the most spicy food since he came from west sumatra.

kido is from west sumatra...where is luluk,alven and hendra come from?

kido is from west sumatra...where is luluk,alven and hendra come from?
...for luluk and alvent, you can check and read thru this link:
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20453

as for hendra, badMania can has to fill you on that....or you can do a search in this forum...;)...and yes, Markis Kidho *should* be able to take in those spicy foods because, of course, he came from where Padang food(arguably Indonesia's spiciest foods) is originated(West Sumatra/near Aceh area)..;):cool:

I think Hendra Setiawan is from East Java. He is Hendrawan's brother in law.

thanks guys for ur sharing!!

I think Hendra Setiawan is from East Java. He is Hendrawan's brother in law.

Hendra (also Silvi Anggarini, Hendrawan's wife) is from Pemalang near Tegal (Central Java)
Hendra, Simon & Heny Budiman are from Sinar Mutiara Tegal then moved to Jakarta joined with bigger badminton club.

hmm...my advice to u all guys.. dun take so much spicy food.. not good for health..especially ur apandix..not good for sports also.. =p

thanks guys for ur sharing!!
..sorry, on a minor rectification, the link i had posted above didn't mention where Luluk and Alven are from...Actually Alven is from Surabaya while, if i remember correctly, Luluk is from (Central Java, ie. Solo or Jogja or around that area)...anyone else can confirm on where Luluk came from??..thx;) :cool:

hmm...my advice to u all guys.. dun take so much spicy food.. not good for health..especially ur apandix..not good for sports also.. =p
..good advice...;) :) .....but realistically, what to do when some of us have been brought up and exposed to spicy foods as part of our diet..hehehe:confused: :rolleyes: :p :( ;) :D

i think hot spices can nullify certain common food bacteria so hot food can be a healthy option. An expert has to confirm this tho.
Lets move spicy food talks to http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=194500#post194500 ;)

i think hot spices can nullify certain common food bacteria so hot food can be a healthy option. An expert has to confirm this tho.
Lets move spicy food talks to http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=194500#post194500 ;)
..thx for the link...on that note, i just scanned thru the posts in that link, and found the opening post by taneepak, esp. on point #4, to be quite amusing..:confused: :rolleyes: :p ..anyways, fun stuff to read, for what its worth...;) :D :cool:

i think hot spices can nullify certain common food bacteria so hot food can be a healthy option. An expert has to confirm this tho.
Lets move spicy food talks to http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=194500#post194500 ;)ya.. i'm informed dat chillies can treat ovary cancer.. whether its true o not i'm not very sure.. but from scientific angel.. too much spicy stuff is not good for apendix..

..good advice...;) :) .....but realistically, what to do when some of us have been brought up and exposed to spicy foods as part of our diet..hehehe:confused: :rolleyes: :p :( ;) :Dthx..:) u hv to change da habits then.. :)

yes guys!take good care of your health! As I'm having training in histology department, many sets of uterus, appendix and colon are being removed everyday!!! Most of them were found to have either benign or malignant tumour!! Mind your own health! Take care!

Haha I find it funny how this thread turns from discussing about badMania's wonderful experience into 'Ma La' Sichuanese dishes into cancer! But I've really enjoyed reading these posts, thank you guys!

Yeah..pandan,indo restaurant in GZ have those delicious dishes.It's pity to only been there once.Look forward to go and eat their dishes again.True though,hendra looks kinda lost n kido looks serious all the time.Well,he did smiles sometimes.Wow..ko herry look much older now,compared to those 2001 AE when he coached sigit/chandra n halim/gunawan.

I sometimes really wanna go n watch indo teams match live though,and be able to take pics with them.Hope it will come true anytime soon..