bravo charlie club
Every week Richard and Ben explore what opened their eyes, share travel tips, discuss listener feedback and debate conundrums in 12 and a half minutes. Join us!
bravo charlie club
018 - Reverse searing steaks. Overseas taxi tips. Best Souvenirs. How late is too late to mow lawns?
- Richard murders a steak while trialling reverse searing without any idea .. but does it work out ok anyhow 🤷♂️
- Taxis and transfers. We have a Bali recommendation but does it play in other countries ?
- Are souvenirs a massive yes or a hard no ? And if yes what ?
- A listener asks - What's up with your podcast music ?
- Does Ben really not know the neighbour who mows his lawn ?
- And exactly how late is too late to mow the lawn on a Sunday evening ?
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Welcome to the Bravo Charlie Club podcast, making you twelve and a half minutes more awesome each week. He's Ben. I'm Richard. Let's go. Ben, how are you this week, mate?
SPEAKER_00:I'm well, mate. And uh for listeners who've just joined us in the United Arab Emirates, may we say hello and Marhaba. So I hope I've pronounced that correctly. Um fantastic. As you know, always trying to learn some new languages and welcome our new listeners. So uh there we are, UAE on board. UAE on the board.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we must be like nudging 20 countries now, Ben.
SPEAKER_00:Um, 22, I think, is the official number. I'd have to go back and count to be honest. Um, fantastic.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00:I didn't want to be one of those people that counts followers and you know stats like that. So um sorry. Happy with that. Mind you, internally, I told my daughter the other day that we had 50 Spotify followers, and she said, Oh, Taylor Swift's got 89 million. Um and I didn't hear the million part, and I thought, gee, we're catching her. That's a surprise.
SPEAKER_01:Well, we are catching her very, very slowly.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, goodness me. We talked about my daughter heading to Bali, and um part of part of her trip was actually anchored by some advice that you gave, which was to use a private taxi and transfer service. We paid a daily rate for her to have someone pick her up and drop her off from airport and hotel. And um, does that does that recommendation play in other countries? I've certainly used it in Jakarta, but that's also part of Indonesia. So it's clearly something that's common there. But are you familiar with that happening in other countries as well? I guess it probably does.
SPEAKER_01:I think for Bali, uh, we were because we lived there for a few years, we knew uh we knew the locals, and it's pretty common to have drivers to take you places and shuffle you round the island. So we had a uh a driver who we knew quite well and sort of super happy to to recommend um him to you guys to use. I other country yeah, I'm not sure about other countries. I mean, I don't know, it's always a bit of a lottery at the airport, right? Taking the taking the airport taxi.
SPEAKER_00:We're not always available, so right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So how do you control that? We were in Bangkok recently, four or five months back, and we went with the uh airport taxi to to get us to the hotel, and uh we thought we'd negotiated the price, but the price negotiation started started as soon as we left the basically the boom gate for the airport on route to the freeway. And so, like, we were like, Oh, are we gonna get our bags dumped here before we hit the uh hit the freeway into town? Anyway anyway, it was uh it was an uncomfortable trip. Um I can imagine I'm sure they do it all the time, right?
SPEAKER_00:I think I've learned that the control of the transaction changes hands upon payment. So whilst it would have been nervous, and I understand that, I figure you're probably still uh as they say, in the driver's seat, although literally you were not in the driver's seat. Yeah, yeah. But you know, negotiating the price ahead of the time, I think that's that's very normal and and smart that you're doing it. Um I also would add something to that, if you're nervous, don't pay until your luggage is on the sidewalk.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, true. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Once you've once you've reached the destination, that last sort of pillar is is sitting inside that boot.
SPEAKER_01:Definitely, definitely.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So yeah, I've I've jumped out of of plenty of cars and got my stuff out before um before handing over any cash or credit card details. Yeah, definitely. Yep, totally. Yep. So yeah, to so to sum up, the in in Bali, the my my daughter had a driver, pick her up from the airport, pick her up from the hotel, take her to wherever she wanted to go, take her back at the end of the day. We paid a daily rate, which was fair and um certainly reasonable when you consider conversions. Um but I think as a father with an 18-year-old in another country, it gave me certainty around probably two of the more um at least safe parts of the trip, which is the pickup from the hotel and the drop-off back to the hotel. So uh that gave it gave me some comfort. Not not a lot, it was still I still worry. Sure. But yeah, it was interesting. Hey, do you do you grab souvenirs when you travel?
SPEAKER_01:Not these days. When I was in my twenties, when I was a lad, you know, back in the day. Million years ago. Exactly, yeah. That that first trip that you had overseas, you bought back something for anyone you knew who was even a casual friend, you know, and you had like half a suitcase full of gifts. Um, and then that sort of second or third trip, maybe you got something for the important friends. But uh yeah, these days, I think international travel I mean, is almost like catching a bus, right? You've got low-cost carriers and you just sort of shuffled on like cows, like cattle. Um, so yeah, I I don't think I think the expectations probably changed. It used to be a lot more fancy, used to be a lot more important, you know. Oh, you're going overseas. Wow, that's kind of the these days. I think it seems uh um, yeah, I don't know, less less fancy or something like that. So yeah, no souvenirs, souvenirless.
SPEAKER_00:For me, I mean we advocate don't um don't check luggage, so obviously that limits. But I I do I I do love to grab a coaster, um, usually because it's cardboard and recyclable and and I use coasters on my on my desk and it reminds me of the fun times I had in that uh I'll always buy toothpaste. Like I don't mind if my toothpaste runs out because you get a another flavour from another country, and um again it just extends your holiday a little bit for those mornings and evenings. Yeah, but yeah, I'm not really a souvenir person either.
SPEAKER_01:So hotel pens, actually. I quite like hotel pens.
SPEAKER_00:I think yeah, that's included in the room cost, so I'm sure it is, but I still leave them there. I think they probably get surprised about how little I take. Hey, um, listener feedback, have we got anything coming in this week?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, listener feedback, yes. Uh listener BH wrote in Ben, this is kind of like targeted at you, I think, and expressed surprise that you didn't know who your own neighbour was that mowed your lawn. So um fair cool.
SPEAKER_00:I I I do know Yang. I think what I said was yeah, he's the nicest guy I've never met. I I I do know Yang. That's that was probably wrong. What I don't do is speak Mandarin. Um apart from some pretty lame phrases. So we just smile and wave and exchange gifts. Um for the record, because he mows a much bigger section of my lawn, um, I do have a power edger. So I go across and uh and edge his what's the power edger? Is that like a inverted whipper snipper or something? It's a whippersnipper, but it's got a metal blade, so it actually cuts quite a nice, neat, neat uh and and he loves that because um I think he either hasn't got a whippersnipper or just knows that I'm gonna come through. And I sweep up afterwards too, so it's full service. Um so again, we just we just get on uh got on by with a smile and a wave. Um a listener MP says uh what's the deal with our podcast music? And I think he's particularly targeting the the dog um chiming in at the end of one of one of our recent episodes.
SPEAKER_01:I know, I think uh Dash got a bit excited uh at the end of last episode and uh let it was a good episode as he as he ripped around the lounge room.
SPEAKER_00:I thought he was cheering. Um but I think that's the reality of Bravo Charlie Club, isn't it? We sort of we're not pretending to be professionals.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think we're straight from the kitchen table to you.
SPEAKER_00:We've we've we've forgotten the music a few times, like it's just you get what you get. That's true.
SPEAKER_01:I don't I think to the um I think Zencaster edits our um our sort of end end music out with that with that sort of um uh quietness, like it it it takes out pauses, repeated words and things like that. But the end music doesn't seem to make it.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know, it probably is. Yeah, I don't know, it's unfixable. It's it is what it is.
SPEAKER_01:It is, it is. But if listeners uh go on we we didn't fully awake yet. Haven't we not? We skipped it, we skipped the fully awake section, Ben.
SPEAKER_00:Oh well, when we usually go in there first, that's interesting. So um yeah, mixing it up for the listeners. Why don't we why don't we cycle back because you actually told me that you were uh conducting a reverse searing experiment. What the hell is reverse searing and and are you now no longer a traditional searer?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, I I I I am no longer a traditional searer. So reverse reverse searing is is cooking the steak uh in a pan and you you do two sides and then you and then you put it into the oven to to bake for a little bit before you sort of uh before you plate it. Yeah, you heat up your pan like that. Yeah, like you like you normally would, and and you know, you you go three minutes or four minutes or five minutes aside or whatever, depending on how you like your steak and and and how thick it is. And then with uh and then and then you usually just let it sit, you know, sit for a couple of minutes, uh, and then and then you'd serve it. Reverse searing is you put it into the oven after you've sort of done the searing in a pan uh for four minutes, five minutes, six minutes, and uh and then and then serve it. So just so I'm clear, the searing at the start, how long did you do that for? Um well it depends on how thick your steaks are. So I'll I go about uh four or five minutes aside. Okay. And then and then into the oven. And then into the oven. Reverse. What's it doing?
SPEAKER_00:What's your experience? Like is it making it more melting your mouth or I think it's juicier.
SPEAKER_01:It sort of seems to be juicier anyway. I'm not sure uh I'm not sure of the exact science behind uh behind it, but uh Well, you haven't convinced me you completely know what you're talking about, so uh Fortunately it's really easy to do, right? You just get a steak and you cook it differently to the way you usually didn't go for the test. That turned out I did actually, and uh yeah, the um the family can be a bit fussy on on that side of things and uh got uh double thumbs up all round. So uh more importantly, yeah, yeah, it is the weak.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So and you've got your oven. It was it at a like the 200 type or like Celsius?
SPEAKER_01:I think that's what I had it. I actually might have even been a bit hotter, might have been 220 or something, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:All right, okay, game on. I do love a good steak, so I'm gonna have a crack. I'm gonna have a crack.
SPEAKER_01:There you go.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, uh conundrum of the week. How late is too late to mow the lawn on a Sunday evening?
SPEAKER_01:Well, you're speaking to the wrong person there. This is like coming to me for car advice, really, given that I don't think I've ever had a lawn. Uh hey, hang on, you haven't had a lawn. I don't have a lawn. I've never had a lawn. Uh I've lawnless. I think I've I don't I don't think I've actually ever had a place with a lawn, let me think. No, I haven't. Or certainly not where I've had to be responsible for it. Nature strips, sure. But uh no, never a lawn. So uh interesting.
SPEAKER_00:Because I I posed this question to a friend of mine and um listen to MT, and he told me that the correct answer is the the time it takes to drink one corona before dusk.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah. So like dark when the sun's down, lawn has to be off.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, correct. It has to be light, and there have to has to be enough light for you to enjoy the the fruit of your labour and and have a corona. Yeah, yeah. And then and then lights out. So I like that. I I thought that was very well solved. Um, you know, especially when you put a a reward at the end of the mowing um part of it. So it was nice.
SPEAKER_01:I think I need to get a lawn so I can have more coronas on dusk. That does sound like a good idea.
SPEAKER_00:The general population would say stay lawnless. Um, it's true. It's more stuff, isn't it? It's just more stuff. Hey, that's it, Richard. Listeners have been BCC'd on our week. In next week's show, we're gonna ask exactly how does that Apple update work? See you next week. Bravo Charlie Club out. And that's the pod.
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