If you’ve ever visited Japan, you probably stumbled upon a traditional sandwich. No thin slices of wholegrain bread to be seen, no meagre filling of cheese and tomato — Japanese sandwiches are a whole different ball game. Uber thick slices of fluffy white bread — so thick, one slice could easily be two — form the base of these impressive lunchtime snacks, though their fillings are where the fun really begins. Thick prisms of delicately folded omelette is the Japanese take on the classic (sometimes daggy) egg sandwich, while light-as-air whipped cream cushion slices of strawberry, grape and kiwi fruit for a sweet afternoon treat.

If you’re salivating — and now looking at your soggy salad sandwich with disappointment — rest assured you don’t need to jump on a plane to get your hands on a traditional Japanese sandwich. Back in 2018, husband and wife duo, Bhas and Ying, saw an opportunity to bring the Japanese supermarket staple to the land Down Under, and opened Sandoitchi on a quiet corner in Darlinghurst. Their unique offerings that fused traditional Japanese fast food with Australian produce and flavours found fans far and wide, with people crossing the city and queuing up to get their hands on one of Sandoitchi’s creations.

It’s now been five years of Sandoitchi feeding hungry city slickers from their Darlinghurst outpost, and this year Bhas and Ying are taking their one-of-a-kind sandwiches across the bridge. This February, Sandoitchi will open their first ever North Shore location in Chatswood Chase’s brand new fresh food and dining precinct. Serving up their much-loved sandwiches, as well as a range of poké-style bowls, breakfast options and drinks, North Shore locals need not go anywhere else for their sandwich fix.

Sandoitchi Chatswood Chase is now open!