If you have been following me on Instagram since earlier last year, you should know how much I enjoy dining at Esora restaurant. So when I learned Chef Shigeru Koizumi was back with a special takeaway menu of assorted Sando (Japanese-style sandwiches), I was overjoyed! Of course, you can trust Chef Shigeru to elevate his childhood favourite food to sophisticated heights with his “one degree cooking” philosophy.
Exquisite in appearance, his is an “adult” version of the popular Sando that stays true to the understated elegance of the Esora brand. So don’t expect an in-your-face machismo popularised by a certain famous Wagyu specialist restaurant. Instead, it’s a nuanced thing, flawlessly balanced in complexity, that sets his collection of pristine looking Sandos apart.
For example, the Black Angus Sando ($38) has the thick piece of buttery-soft beef encrusted in thin batter and layered with coriander, an egg mayo concocted with Japanese horseradish and oba (also known as shiso) leaf between thin slices of bread.
In the equally marvelous Japanese Pork Sando ($28) with its slightly sweeter taste profile, it’s celery and a hint of lemon that are the elements joining the juicy, fat-laced breaded and fried pork, as well as the aforementioned Japanese horseradish egg mayo and oba leaf.
Although the temptation is to wolf everything down, I implore you, if you manage to get your hands on these Sandos, please take your time to relish every bite, and appreciate the luscious creaminess and bright herbaceous notes that have been thoughtfully woven into them.