u/agoentis

I totally understand why Bossman uses the Bain Marie (warming pot) and it is so they can keep up with demand when demand it high by cutting off kebab, and keeping it warm pending more orders while fresh meat cooks.

I do not mind the Bain Marie late as will have had a few jars, but when ordering a kebab early and sober it really irritates me. Last night got this kebab in Bristol at Rayan kebab and the guy takes the meat from the Bain Marie and heats it further on the griddle. So the irony is that a sober person just getting a doner for dinner gets the worst doner. I never really feel like challenging and know it will take 5-6 mins to cook fresh meat if they have it in the pot.

Basically, if you go in early and sober you somehow end up with a worse kebab than you would at 1am pissed.

EDIT: A lot of people here saying this has always been the case on card transactions. I have looked this up and it does appear to be common place in most of Europe but more new in Portugal, and has been more aggressively marketed in the last year:

Reduniq Blog - so it is pretty new in Portugal, especially the second press to confirm rejection. The blog is crazy as presents it as an excellent opportunity for the customer and a revenue generation opportunity for the trader.

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Probably obvious to most people here but the difference still surprised me when I went to the trouble of doing the maths. I can’t share the screenshot and photo on this sub so:

I took €90 out in Portugal yesterday on a card with fee-free foreign withdrawals. The ATM offered to convert it to £87.67, with a 13.5% markup, which is absolutely standard for a foreign ATM.

I rejected it and my bank charged me £77.24. So £10.43 saved on €90 just by pressing reject!!

I’ve also noticed something new in Portugal this trip which is that contactless terminals in restaurants and shops are now offering the same EUR/GBP choice.

I’ve been coming here for years and haven’t seen that before. One waiter actually selected GBP for me once I had paid contactless (he was holding the terminal), which added about £5 to the meal.

Worth keeping an eye on the terminal and always selecting the local currency.

Third attempt at making char kway teow after having this for the first time in Georgetown over the new year. I think I’ve managed to get it pretty authentic - what else can I do to improve this dish?