Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven

Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven
Location
: 980 Islington Avenue, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.7-eleven.ca/

The egg salad sandwich at 7-Eleven in Japan has become somewhat legendary over the years, so now that it’s landed in Canada, it comes with a whole lot of hype.  The first time I attempted to buy one, it was sold out, and I overheard someone else in the store asking about it.

Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven

It’s a very simple sandwich; the package it comes in lists the ingredients as just “shokupan bread, eggs, mayonnaise (Kewpie), mustard, salt.”

I can’t claim to be an expert on the real deal in Japan — I’ve had it a couple of times, but generally speaking, if I’m looking for a quick bite in a Japanese 7-Eleven, I’m grabbing an onigiri — but it’s clear even to me that this just isn’t the same.

Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven

The egg salad itself is actually quite pleasant — it’s eggy and rich, and is somewhere in the ballpark of the Japanese version.  They’re a bit too stingy with it, however, with a lot of the sandwich having very little of the stuff.

Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven

The real deal-breaker here is the bread.  It’s dense, and not even remotely comparable to the pillowy ultra-fluffiness of the real deal version.

It’s so dense that it makes the thin amount of egg salad feel like an even worse problem than it is, with an unyielding texture that thoroughly overpowers the egg.

Japanese Style Egg Salad Sandwich from 7-Eleven

Overall, it’s a perfectly fine convenience store egg salad sandwich (especially for the current promotional price of five bucks), but if you’re hoping for a taste of Japan at home… not so much.

Amazing Breakfast Sandwiches at Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee
Location
: 1473 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.instagram.com/dads.goodmorning

Dad’s Breakfast Sandwiches opened pretty recently, and it’s already extremely popular.  I tried to visit a couple of weeks ago, at just before noon on a Saturday, and it was all sold out.  I don’t mean one or two sandwiches were sold out.  I mean they had sold out of everything.

Clearly, going early is advisable.  I showed up at around 9:00am this time, and the place was packed, so I’m guessing another sell-out was inevitable.

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee

(An aside: the sign calls this place “Dad’s Breakfast Sandwiches,” but online, it appears to be called “Dad’s Breakfast & Coffee.”  Figure out a name and stick with it, guys; this isn’t that hard.)

I tried a couple of the sandwiches: Dad’s ’48 (“egg, hashbrown, cheddar, house ketchup, bacon or sausage”) and Katsu Dad (“katsu egg, caramelized onions, chili crisp, aioli”).

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee

I was wondering if maybe this place was a bit over-hyped, but both of these sandwiches took my skepticism, loaded it into a cannon and shot it into the sun.  The hype: 100 percent deserved.

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee

The Dad’s ’48 is the more traditional of the two, but is just perfectly executed on every level.  You can choose between bacon and sausage; the guy behind the counter mentioned that they make their sausage in house, so that’s what I went with.

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee

It’s phenomenal.  Perfect balance between the silky egg patty, the gooey cheese, the meaty sausage (which is nicely spiced and thoroughly delicious), and the crispy hashbrown.  The ketchup and pickle slices (which the menu doesn’t mention) add more flavour and zinginess.  The fluffy, slightly sweet bun is the perfect vehicle.  It’s a top-tier breakfast sandwich.  One of the best in the city for sure.

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee

But as much as I liked that one, I think I might have liked the Katsu Dad even more.  The idea of breading and frying an egg patty is, frankly, genius.  It’s got a great level of crispiness on its exterior, but the egg patty within is just as silky and perfectly cooked at the non-fried one in the Dad’s ’48.

Dad's Breakfast & Coffee

And the combo of the ultra-savoury, mildly spicy chili crisp and the sweet caramelized onions — not to mention the creamy aioli — is a big winner.  I can’t say I’ve ever had a breakfast sandwich quite like this before, and it’s one that will live in my dreams forever.

Quick Bites: Masa Deli, T.O. Dickens Restaurant, Papi Chulo’s

Sausage and egg breakfast sandwich from Masa Deli
Sausage and egg breakfast sandwich from Masa Deli

I think my credibility takes a hit every time I say this (hey, I am what I am), but I feel like as far as breakfast sandwiches go, a McMuffin is surprisingly hard to beat.  Whenever I get a breakfast sandwich (which inevitably costs two or three times as much as McMuffin) I ask myself: is this better than a McMuffin?  And nine times out of ten, the answer is no, not really.  The breakfast sandwich at Masa Deli features “chicken sausage, chive omelette, white cheddar, pickles, aioli, hot sauce, English muffin.”  It’s tasty, with perfectly prepared eggs and an enjoyably flavourful sausage.  But the omelette was a bit too substantial for the sandwich, and all the toppings were so sloppy that the toasted English muffin had thoroughly lost its crispiness by the time I ate it (which was maybe like three or four minutes after they handed it to me).

Bacon Grilled Cheese and BLT from T.O. Dickens Restaurant
Bacon Grilled Cheese and BLT from T.O. Dickens Restaurant

I tried a couple of the sandwiches from T.O. Dickens Restaurant, a no-frills joint with a nice patio in Kensington Market — the bacon grilled cheese, and the BLT.  Nothing about either of them particularly stood out (and I wish the quality of the cheese were a bit higher), but they were both solid sandwiches.  Is it the most exciting option in Kensington Market?  It sure isn’t, but everything I tried was pretty good.

Tacos at Papi Chulo's
Tacos at Papi Chulo’s

Speaking of restaurants with nice patios and solid but unspectacular food… Papi Chulo’s.  It’s fine!  I tried a couple of their tacos, and both were perfectly tasty.  It’s not the type of place that anyone is going to be raving about, but if you’re on Ossington and you’re looking for a nice patio with decent food, you could do worse.

A Tasty Egg Sandwich at Egg Club

Egg Club
Location
: 531 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: https://eggclub.ca/

As you’d guess from the name, Egg Club is all about egg sandwiches; every sandwich here features a fluffy omelet with various toppings, served on sweet Japanese milk bread.  It reminds me a lot of Egg Bae, but I think I like this place better.

Egg Club

You can get sandwiches here with stuff like ham, bacon, or even lobster, but I went pretty simple with the eponymous Egg Club: “Balsamic Onion, Swiss Cheese, Creme Fraiche, Egg Club Sauce.”

Egg Club

Between the silky eggs, the cheese, the sweet brioche-style bread, and the creamy sauces, it’s a very rich sandwich.  It’s a bit one-note (this was my biggest problem with Egg Bae as well), but the balsamic onion does a pretty solid job of bringing some sweet acidity that tones it down.  It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but there’s a generous amount throughout the sandwich, and it’s fairly essential in keeping things balanced.

Cheap Eats at Ming’s Noodle Cafe

Ming's Noodle CafeLocation: 3447 Kennedy Road, Scarborough
Website: None

Ming’s Noodle Cafe is a Hong-Kong-style diner; it’s also one of those restaurants with a multi-page menu with literally hundreds of choices.  If you’re not sure what to order, the All Day Special is a safe bet, and an absolutely incredible deal.

Ming's Noodle Cafe

For the almost absurdly low price of 7.45, you get an egg sandwich or an omelette with toast on the side, a main meal, and a drink.  It’s an insane deal.

Ming's Noodle Cafe

Is the food amazing?  No, it definitely isn’t; but for that price how can you complain?

Ming's Noodle Cafe

And it’s certainly not bad.  I started with the egg sandwich, which features a tasty, buttery omelette between two fluffy slices of white bread.  The eggs were slightly overcooked, but it was a respectable sandwich.

Ming's Noodle Cafe

Next up was the beef with satay sauce on vermicelli soup.  This was fine; the beef is tender, and the satay sauce is tasty enough.  Nothing about it particularly stands out… until you add a heaping amount of the chili sauce they have on the table, then it really comes alive.

Ming's Noodle Cafe

I wish that sauce were a bit spicier (it’s surprisingly mild) but it’s otherwise sweet, savoury, and addictive, with a face-punch of satisfying flavours.  You can buy a jar to take home for six bucks, and you’d better believe I bought one.