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 and content creation. We chat about how she balanced a corporate career with creative passion, growing up Chinese-Australian in Sydney, performing on stages from singing competitions to national finals, and what it really takes to stay consistent when you’re building something on the side.

If you've ever thought about starting a side hustle, chasing a creative dream, or just love food content, this one's for you.

---

Anna's Links

Youtube Channel

https://www.instagram.com/latenightannaa

https://www.tiktok.com/@late.night.anna

---

Items mentioned

Noodle bowl: https://www.amazon.com.au/Sets-Containers-Microwavable-Restaurants-Self-Adhesive/dp/B0DPJVT1NW/

What we made: https://bylatenightanna.com/fire-carbonara-instant-noodles/

Anna's singing channel: https://www.instagram.com/annabanana.mp3

---

Need a photobooth? Reach out to SonofaBooth

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

---

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:07 Background, corporate life

6:42 Anna's singing journey, different languages

10:57 The basque cheesecake, covid business

17:26 How do you make a living?

21:54 Masterchef appearance

24:18 Why food content?

26:52 Mukbang, our relationship with food

31:37 Bao bae, starting a fast food brand

35:18 Growing up with food, inspiration

39:10 How did you learn to cook?

41:24 When was enough income to replace the corporate gig?

45:12 More followers =/= More income

49:27 Pivoting to long form content

51:43 Culinary Class Wars dishes

56:29 Travel content?

59:42 What is 'latenightanna'?

1:02:04 Son of a Booth ad

1:03:34 Cooking starts

1:06:53 Light vs dark soy sauce

1:12:58 Ingredient you can't live without

1:20:56 Are instant noodles your guilty pleasure food/personality?

1:23:47 Go to dish to impress someone

1:26:47 Drawing on cups

1:29:33 Advice for other content creators

1:37:14 Outro

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 once the day is over and married life begins.

---

Corey's mum's catering: msbunmee

Nathan's wedding venue: Highline

---

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

---

0:00 Intro

3:11 Describe the wedding in one word

4:48 Tung's big announcement

9:07 Which knee to get on when proposing, adrenaline

14:50 Business class is crazy, having kids

17:14 How did Tung design the ring, new drip, wedding season

21:15 Picking the wedding venue

25:20 Parental input for the wedding, food choices, styling

30:54 The tea ceremony, Nathan's big reveal

37:03 Getting all the vendors, Tung becoming MC

40:52 What almost went wrong? Saving money

45:26 Consider being a celebrant

47:56 Feelings leading up to the wedding

50:23 Planning, parents inviting friends

54:29 The deck of cards

57:07 Budget, mid, high end venues, food options

1:00:28 Vendors for the wedding

1:04:58 Picking the first dance song, highlights

1:12:39 Would you change anything?

1:18:22 Planning Tung's wedding

1:20:24 How it feels to be married

1:23:14 Nerves, advice for future grooms/brides

1:26:54 BUDGET

1:29:12 Start planning

1:33:36 The photoshoot, potential destination wedding

1:39:05 Questions from viewers, engagement watches

1:42:54 Outro

Note: There will be video soon, working through some tech issues. Otherwise YouTube is where you can find it for now!

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. Whether you’re buying soon or just curious, this one clears up a lot.

---

Michael's email: [email protected]

https://www.professionalhomeloans.com.au/

---

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

---

0:00 Intro

3:04 Inspiring kids with Dai Le

5:33 Growing up, selective schooling PTSD

14:00 TAFE, uni offers and experience

20:34 Becoming an Apprentice Broker

23:28 How do brokers get paid? The cutthroat side

28:10 Cut out the broker and save?

31:18 Struggling as an apprentice, abusing free gym trials

36:38 Getting from start to finish for a loan, compromising

40:02 Where to buy IPs

45:32 Can brokers get loans for themselves? Apprentice life

52:48 Be the dumbest guy in the room

55:26 Teaching other colleagues

57:23 Apprentice vs now

58:20 The self employment struggle

1:02:24 Fluctuating income, the first deal ever

1:04:56 Bad vs good broker

1:06:33 Why not go for the cheapest rate?

1:10:51 5% deposit scheme

1:13:38 Biggest first home buyer mistakes

1:18:02 Emotions of buying a place

1:22:24 Toughest deal

1:25:08 How afterpay/credit card churning affects home loans

1:27:17 Advice for aspiring brokers

1:31:11 Outro

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 email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

---

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:46 How much was gambling around you growing up?

4:02 Las Vegas vs Macau, culture

10:47 Old vs New gamblers

13:35 Sports betting, VR betting, Crypto casinos

19:09 Zombie apocalypse, bidet tangent

21:12 Betting on anything, following trades, powerball

26:43 What would we do if we won the lottery?

35:55 Is hiring an in-house chef cheating on your mum? Proxy incense

39:27 Aunty claiming she prayed for you to win hypothetical

42:29 Stealth wealth

47:19 Enjoying work? Lean FIRE? Jobs we'd work at still?

50:32 Would you still credit card churn?

53:15 A farm!

53:48 Outro

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 finding purpose in both work and passion.

---

Guest: Kevin Lam

Sydney West Riders Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/327472683998295

---

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

---

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:00 What it's like juggling so many responsibilities

2:51 Sydney West Riders origin story

7:51 What were we doing in Lithgow?

10:07 Career path - town planner

13:23 What's happening to the land across Cabra fire station?

14:47 Motivations for career from parents upbringing?

18:28 Running for 2016 Fairfield Council, how it works

25:55 Town planning, more info

30:07 Difference between mayor and local member

33:21 What does Kevin do as a councillor?

41:30 Biggest changes in council?

45:21 Will John St be the next food night market?

50:13 Are younger people more tuned into politics?

52:50 Most rewarding moments

58:03 Funny stories, media

1:01:32 Getting into motorbikes, safety courses

1:07:38 Motivation to keep going

1:14:28 Outro

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 is in partnership with the Australian Government. @healthgovau

To find out more, visit https://www.health.gov.au/vaping

---

Guests: Matt & Nathan

Items mentioned

WHO Bacon article

---

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:50 How has your approach to health changed? Hyrox?

6:18 What happens when you train too much

9:01 Pain tolerance, doctor scales

11:25 Necessity of warming up before exercise, extreme vs minimal activeness

13:45 Why is it taking me so long to recover from sickness, calisthenics

17:36 Doing more fitness for your future

19:55 Vaping segment

28:45 Why is it a challenge to be more fit now? Trying other sports

31:55 Body image, Nathan's experience with body dysmorphia

42:02 Cultural attitude towards fitness, nutrition

50:04 'Everything' can cause some sort of health issue

53:58 Eating is a CHORE

59:21 Prioritising eating at home

1:05:03 Mental health, career goals

1:10:30 What you can do to better yourself

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/_davidtruong__/

Ian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianstagramu/

---

Items mentioned

Hiring actors NOT to laugh at a comedy show by Misfit Minds

I Brought Silent Mimes To A Comedy Show! by 4fun

yeahmadtv - https://www.youtube.com/@yeahmadtv

The Cheatcoders Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/thecheatcoders

---

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

---

Chapters

0:00 Intro

3:00 How do David and Ian know each other? First gigs?

7:00 Was this a COVID project? How did it all start?

11:17 How hard it is to get on stage to begin with

15:34 Running your own show, difficulty selling tickets

20:10 Improv is not the same as stand-up, dealing with hecklers

23:55 Focusing on this full time

29:29 Role models

35:34 What is the average set length? Set etiquette

42:30 Worst bombs

52:19 Staying motivated, coming up with jokes

1:01:07 Comics helping other comics… If you know them. Clean vs dirty jokes

1:07:28 Taboo, low hanging fruit jokes

1:12:18 Representing the area

1:13:42 Advice for aspiring comedians

1:19:09 Outro

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 your Will, valid until 31 December 2025. Please email [email protected] for more information.

Arver Law: https://www.arverlaw.com.au/

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:52 SWEH Expo, Arver Law

5:31 The law journey, too sane to work as a youth officer

8:57 Applying for a Cabra law firm, learning Viet, YES I AM SICK

12:28 Work at the Cabra law firm, differences with a larger firm

15:17 Toxic work culture, emails at 2AM?!

18:57 Hitting a dark spot, changes in work

21:08 More about the Cabra law firm, Maccas

24:35 The clarkeship/graduate experience, Shanghai exchange

32:30 VSA (Vietnamese Students Association)

35:35 Community events, working with Dai Le origin story

40:58 Working as a Policy Advisor for Dai

42:35 What's it like working in a politician's office?

45:25 Election time, who prints posters? Putting posters up?

48:57 Political drama

52:18 Young advisory committee, changes with Gen Z voters

54:16 BRAINROT political campaigns

55:44 The importance of wills, younger clients?

1:00:51 Issues when you don't have a will

1:04:30 Signing off my family member's wishes after death

1:08:02 Living wills vs dead wills

1:11:11 Why can't AI just write it? A DISCOUNT CODE??

1:15:57 Outro

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://saigonbrew.com.au/

Our listeners get 15% off with the code 'RICENMICS15'

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]

⁠⁠Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:20 The inception of Saigon Brew, Covid times

6:09 Finding a warehouse, inspiration

8:20 Why coffee? Japan moment with cans

10:46 Introducing Viet coffee

11:47 Do cafes make more money in summer vs winter?

12:59 New trend for coffee in Vietnam

14:34 Australia has the best coffee in the world?

15:49 Top 10 coffee shops in the world

16:52 I am a fruit enjoyer

20:23 How do you intro new coffee to people, pairing with durries

22:25 The three flavours of Saigon Brew

25:18 Where are people buying from? Northern Territory?!

28:20 Challenges of starting the business, finding partners

32:52 Tips if you wanna start a F&B business

35:03 Alcohol and durries being taxed high

38:23 The corporate life journey

42:50 Call centre environments suck, empathy fatigue

44:37 Defined benefits, the worst working environment

50:39 Process analyst

52:44 Process improvement at Virgin Money

55:05 The last corporate role

57:05 Investing more into Saigon Brew but staying in corporate

59:02 The first grocery store

59:54 G7/Trung Nguyen coffee goss

1:03:07 Contacting grocers, aggressive ads

1:11:36 Woolies metro type stores would do well?

1:15:53 Costco's rule for buying products

1:20:23 Balancing 2 jobs

1:24:23 Achievements/Milestones

1:25:13 How long did it take from idea to product?

1:26:34 New flavours? The rise of Asian flavours

1:31:04 How important is community?

1:33:56 Inspiration? Role models?

1:38:33 Future plans? How do you get nutritional info?

1:41:00 The development lifecycle

1:43:38 Social plugs

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/watch?v=VL1AESpPgNQ

Want to get in touch? Send us an email at ⁠⁠[email protected]

⁠⁠Follow us on our socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/ricenmicspodcast

⁠⁠⁠⁠Music: aKu - Love Shine | aKu - The Final Blow

Chapters

0:00 Intro

1:05 How we know each other

2:41 Why is Lawrence here, how he landed his first sales job

6:59 How Lawrence and I applied for work as 16 year olds

8:43 The WORST WORK EXPERIENCE EVER

12:48 The most satisfying quitting story

16:16 Never stay with the counter offer when you quit

18:39 What was the commission there like?

19:48 Extended warranties suck, my fridge warranty issue

22:38 The motivation to get into sales - wolf of wall street?

23:59 Was uni a scam?

25:53 Experience working at Bing Lee

27:55 That mate who hooks you up with the discounted goods

29:41 Leaving for ANZ, dead people getting credit cards?

32:57 Why not pivot into high positions within banking?

35:00 After ANZ - JD Sports, crazy customers, physical threats

43:20 How was the call centre environment?

45:16 The uni capstone unit, an interesting group

48:54 EHP Labs, $100 a day?!

51:41 Whoring yourself out for any role after graduating

54:20 The work at EHP Labs

57:28 How to tailor the script for influencers

1:01:19 The dream job wasn't the dream

1:05:16 Moving to Gartner after getting fired

1:11:29 Dealing with rejection

1:12:49 Advice for someone starting in sales calls

1:21:58 Why not advance within Gartner?

1:24:02 How many states are there in Australia?

1:26:11 How do you find prospects? A buffet during covid.

1:30:00 What is Lastpass? Other password managers

1:32:27 What other sales tactics are used in B2B?

1:35:22 How is salary broken down?

1:42:39 Why stick around LastPass?

1:43:41 More hours = more money?

1:46:25 How AI has helped in the world of sales

1:47:55 How to maintain business relations

1:49:32 Funny story - Lawrence's biggest Bing Lee sale

1:56:37 Most creative way to close a sale - PRETENDING TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY?!

2:01:01 Advice for someone starting sales generally

2:03:18 Reading body language, finding common ground

2:06:33 Backdoor Banter Podcast