Episodes

68
June 23, 2026

Harry Jun: From Teacher to Good Game Spawn Point/Squad & Comedy | Ep 68

I chat with Sydney comedian Harry Jun to learn about his journey from high school teacher to full-time comedy, content creation and media. Harry gives us the raw, behind the scenes look at the independent creative grind. We dive deep in some Aussie millennial nostalgia (even though technically I'm gen Z), joining Good Game Spawn Point and Squad, navigating social media and exploring Harry's culture through his work. --- Harry's Links https://www.instagram.com/_harryjun _/https://harryjun.com...
67
April 29, 2026

Terence Nguyen: Balancing Acting, Events MCing, and the Reality of Freelance Life | Ep 67

I sit down with professional Executive MC and actor Terence Nguyen, aka 'The Main with the Mic'. Terence has built a brand as the area's MC, who has hosted weddings, corporate events, charity galas, but his path to getting here was far from typical. We dive into his evolution from a kid in Western Sydney to a high-energy MC. He shares his foundational training at PYT Fairfield which helped him break the 'quiet Asian' stereotype which led him roles in major products like Anyone But You and Last ...
66
March 23, 2026

Fatherhood, Vlogging, Weddings and Escaping Finance w/ Andy Yang | Ep 66

We sit down with one of the OG creative and wedding videography veteran Andy Yang, where he shares the moment on a morning train commute was one of the many steps to slowly leave behind a stable finance career to pursue a life behind the lens. We dive into the evolution of the Asian Australian creative scene, from Andy's early days filming YouTube covers and touring Asia, to navigating the high-stakes world of wedding videography (The SanDisk failure...). --- Andy's Links https://www...
Guest: Andy Yang
65
Feb. 8, 2026

Corporate 9-5 to Food Creator: LateNightAnna’s Journey | Ep 65

If you were to ask a year ago, I would've said by day, Anna works 9-5 as a finance manager, and by night, she's LateNightAnna. But since then, she is all in on LateNightAnna, cooking, creating and building a food content brand that started with a viral Basque cheesecake during Covid. In this episode, I sit down with Anna to talk about her journey from competing in MasterChef as a teenager, to starting a home baking business from scratch, to documenting her life in her 30s through food, travel an...
Guest: Anna Li
64
Dec. 30, 2025

Weddings, Proposals & Growing Up - Nathan’s Big Day + Tung's Big Reveal | Ep 64

Weddings hit different when it’s your close friends, and even more when you’re part of the chaos behind the scenes. We sit down with Nathan & Annette to break down their wedding day - the planning, the emotions, the cultural expectations, family dynamics… and the moments that nearly didn’t go to plan. I also reveal a big announcement of my own... We chat through everything from proposals and adrenaline, to budgets, vendors, tea ceremonies, first dances, and what it actually feels like o...
63
Dec. 9, 2025

Mortgage Broking in Australia: What First-Home Buyers Need to Know w/ Michael Nguyen | Ep 63

We’ve hit that stage of life where everyone’s either getting engaged, married, planning a Japan trip, or trying to buy a house. And somewhere in that chaos, the words “mortgage broker” keep popping up, but what do they actually do? Are they just a fancy search engine for home loans? In this episode, Michael Nguyen joins us to break down the world of mortgage broking, answer the questions most first-home buyers are too scared to ask, and share what it’s really like working in the industry. Whe...
62
Sept. 24, 2025

Gambling and Lottery in Asian Culture // The $100M Lottery Win Theorycrafting | Ep 62

Why are games of luck like the lottery, or even casual gambling such a big part of Asian culture? In this episode we dive into the weird world of superstition, fate, our experiences with gambling growing up and what we'd actually do if we won the lottery. --- Guests: Matt & Nathan --- Items mentioned ⁠Behind Asia's AWFUL Gambling Obsession⁠ Gourd, crab, fish, tiger game Racist Pokie Joke Origin $43M Pokie Machine Malfunction Sex dice watch --- Want to get in touch? Send us an em...
61
Aug. 27, 2025

Fairfield Councillor, City Planning & Motorcycling Enthusiast w/ Kevin Lam | Ep 61

What is it really like to serve the community you grew up in? Kevin Lam sits down to share how his parents' migration story helped shape his drive, path into city planning and eventually becoming a Fairfield Councilor. We also chat about a shared hobby, motorbikes. As the co-founder of Sydney West Riders, Kevin's built a community of over 14,000 riders for over a decade, running charity rides, events, and track days. Tune in now to hear all about balancing identity, giving back, and findin...
Guest: Kevin Lam
60
July 21, 2025

How we're Staying Healthy in our Late 20's | Ep 60

When we got to a certain age, we're seeing our friends and us picking some sort of hobby that will determine our personality for the next several years. Maybe it's podcasting (I might be guilty), rebuilding cars, baking bread, or running a marathon to name a few... In this episode we chat about what we're doing to stay active/fit, and maybe we can reflect on this in a few years' time thanking our younger selves that we chose some of these things that we're doing to stay healthy. This episode ...
59
July 14, 2025

What It's Like being a Comedian // The Area's Stand-Up Scene | Ep 59

I grew up watching a ton of comedies. I always wondered what it's really like getting up on stage and trying to make a room full of strangers laugh. I sit down with local stand-up comedians Ian Mu and David Truong to chat about them getting into the Sydney comedy scene from open mics, weird jokes, their jokes that landed or bombed, and what it takes to keep coming back to the mic (even after a rough set). --- Guests: David Truong & Ian Mu David's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_david...
Guests: Ian Mu , David Truong
58
May 20, 2025

The Importance of Writing a Will // Experience Working as a Lawyer | Ep 58

Dying is a natural part of life, but what about the admin work that comes after it? Who deals with it? Can you even deal with it? Another type of lawyer, Bao Nguyen, is joining us to share about the morbid side of death and importance of having a Will. We also get to know Bao's journey to law, with a side of political advisory. To get you thinking about own life admin if the unexpected ever happens, Arver Law is offering a $150 discount exclusively to Rice n Mics listeners for drafting of you...
Guest: Bao Nguyen
57
April 2, 2025

How Saigon Brew Built Vietnamese Coffee in a Can | Ep 57

The founder of Saigon Brew, Dylan, joins us to talk about his Aussie-owned Vietnamese coffee brand. A journey some might find familiar of trying to find something more fulfilling than the 9-5 corporate life, we talk about his passion for his Vietnamese roots which led him to craft a beverage which resonates with his cultural heritage. Items mentioned: Top 100 coffee shops: https://bit.ly/3RDC4m9 Saigon Brew socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saigonbrew/ Website: https:/...
56
Feb. 11, 2025

The High-Stakes World of Sales: Hard Lessons & Career Pivots (The Wolf of John St) | Ep 56

When I think of working in sales, two movies come to mind: The Wolf of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross. Ruthless sales tactics where people will stop at nothing as long as it lines their pockets with money. My old friend Lawrence takes me along his journey in the sales space from retail to B2B, and busts some myths of salesmen. Guest: Lawrence Ly Items mentioned: Backdoor Banter Podcast:https://www.instagram.com/backdoorbants/Grant Cardone training video:https://www.youtube.com/watc...
55
Jan. 21, 2025

Cabramatta Uncut: Real Stories of Culture, Business & Growing Up in Sydney’s West | Ep 55

I get 4 guests on and Nathan and I chat about their lives. Don't forget to use the timestamps! Apologies for the audio quality, we'll be back to the 'professional studio' space soon. :) Thank you Trang for letting us film in your cafe! Venue Instagram: ⁠@Mondays2166 Sister restaurant: Nourishmint Cafe Note: I was meant to upload this last week but that thunderstorm took out my internet LOL... Guests: Maxwell, Renee, Alan and Trang Supporting: Nathan Want to get in touch? Send us an e...
54
Dec. 29, 2024

54 - We're Growing Old // How We Feel Nearing 30

Shout out to Trang at @Mondays Cabramatta for letting us record in their cafe! Venue Instagram: @Mondays2166 With the current stage of life around us being engagements, weddings and starting families, we start to realise that we are no longer as young as we thought... Guests: Nathan & Matt Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠ricenmicspodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠ Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠ Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow Chapters ...
53
Nov. 13, 2024

53 - 7000 Islands // Unveiling Asian Flavours in Alcohol

Siegfrid 'Siggy' Bacani joins Nathan and me on this episode to cover his business called 7000 Islands. They focus on Filipino craft beer, wine and spirits. Some highlights are the Ube Cream Liqueur and the Ube Lager. There will soon be a Pandan Liqueur available! They want to bring the best of Filipino flavours while also promoting Australian wines in the Philippines. We try the Ube Liqueur live and find out whether those wine snobs were onto something. Guests: Siegfrid Bacani Supporting: Nathan...
52
Oct. 16, 2024

The Hard Truth About Personal Training, Physio & Competing in the Commonwealth Games | Ep 52

Gary returns 4 years later to give his insight on what it's like as a PT long term. The financial struggles, addiction, lifestyle inflation with partying, to going completely clean. We are also joined by Gary's good friend, Phillip, who is also a PT. Phil has the added qualification of being a physio alongside his coaching and has competed in the Commonwealth games in weightlifting. Raw advice, a $4,000 scam that helped craft Phil's sales course and more await in the longest episode yet. Gues...
Guests: Gary Le , Phillip Liao
51
Sept. 10, 2024

The Ultimate Wedding Planning Guide: Budgets, Vendors, and Avoiding Disasters | Ep 51

I'm back to doing video with podcasts! Check this one out on YouTube! With big news from Nathan, we decide to dive into this topic of engagements and weddings, and the rules/things you should/shouldn't do around them. Everyone around us is also getting engaged and setting up dates for their wedding. It's an exciting time. Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ricenmicspodcast@gmail.com Follow us on our socials: https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final B...
50
Aug. 14, 2024

How Thanh Truong (The Fruit Nerd) is Revolutionizing the Produce Industry | Ep 50

This was recorded in April 2024, so some topics that were raised may be a little outdated (been to Korea btw). When you think of the term 'fruit and veg', what comes to mind? Grocery shopping? The food pyramid? A healthy lifestyle? Something I need more of? Well for people like Thanh, it's something that really excites him. So much that he was donned the name 'The Fruit Nerd' from his mates. His mission is to revolutionise how we see and enjoy fresh produce. After listening to this, I hope...
49
July 18, 2024

Justin Ung (Erbzmagic): Finding Magic and Overcoming Adversity in a Creative Career | Ep 49

CW: Themes of self harm and depression. The willpower it takes to break out of a depressive mindset is not easy (just smile lol!). Justin's story is emotional, inspirational and something you need to hear. I almost cried filming this, and then the recording turned into something more light hearted. He's gone from fastfood, to retail, to banking, and now he's a magician and MC. He knows how to work a room! We discuss: Who's Justin/erbzmagic? His routine before performing magic His...
48
June 23, 2024

The Secret to Cheap Business Class: How to Hack Travel Points with Steve Hui (iFlyFlat) | Ep 48

You're walking to your seat in the airplane and walk past the first/business class seats. You might wonder what these people do for work. What if I were to tell you there was a way to experience that an affordable price? This is where I need to drop in that this isn't financial advice and you should seek independent, professional advice. Credit card churning is very lucrative. Joining me is Steve Hui from iFlyFlat who explores this with me and also his business which helps other businesses tu...
Guest: Steve Hui
June 2, 2024

Collab: Perfect Blue (1997) review w/ Two Asian Blokes Podcast

A bit late but here we are! I visited Melbourne in early April and had a great opportunity to collab with Thanh and Davy. We chat about the film, idol culture, our experience growing up with media and more. If you want to listen to the full episode, you can check them out in the link below. Full Episode (Spotify Link) Two Asian Blokes Podcast Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ricenmicspodcast@gmail.com Follow us on our socials: https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast
47
April 2, 2024

47 - Bargain Tips [Extreme Edition]

I remember reading this old reddit thread about someone sleeping in their car for two years to save for a home loan deposit. While interesting I don't think it could be something I would be able to do personally. We discuss the extreme side of bargain hunting that we do and some other ideas if ego was off the table. Some of these are meant to be comedic and we don't expect anyone to actually do them. Haha, unless...? We discuss: Using our lowest coin (5c) to our advantage Pooping at work How...
46
March 14, 2024

46 - iBlush // Combating Asian Flush

Big shout out to A Seat at our Table podcast, check out Tracy and Wendy's podcast which covers Asian Australians in the creative industry. For listening to this episode, our listeners can get 15% off their order from iBlush with the discount code BEENTOJAPANBTW (I don't get any money from this). Asian flush has been a term that we're all familiar with. Lydia was especially affected by this, (not just her face but all over her body) and set to find a solution to this issue. Starting her com...
Guest: Lydia Li