Two slabs of tasteless white bread with a scrappy layer of meat inside isn’t going to earn a spot on this list. Here are our favourite sandwiches around town.
Best BLT
From: Freshly Baked by Le Bijoux
Price: $7.50
A BLT sandwich that you wouldn’t feel bad munching on after the gym can only be a winner. Loaded with the essentials – bacon from Huber’s Butchery, lettuce and tomato – and topped with avocado, this gourmet sandwich on wholemeal bread needs a sizeable bite to make a dent in it. If wholemeal isn’t your bag, ask for owner Audrey Tan’s signature walnut raisin bread. She’s a former executive pastry chef and her bread is so good that you’ll be leaving with a good few loaves for home too. Grab one of the roadside tables or sit down inside this shophouse bakery-cum-café, order a coffee and watch them making your sarnie in the back.
57 Killiney Road | 6735 3298 | Facebook
Best Bread
From: Maison Kayser
Price: $8
For those who appreciate watching artisans at work, the baker can be seen scoring the bread with a deft hand before the loaves disappear into the oven. And it’s the bread that is really the star ingredient in Maison Kayser’s sandwiches, from the curcuma bread (turmeric, hazelnut and walnut) with a poulet (chicken) curry and salad filling to the humblest of French sandwiches, the jambon et fromage. For this, the baguette is deliciously crusty on the outside and chewy enough to give your jaw a good old workout, with butcher’s ham, emmental cheese and a smear of mustard – it could do with a slathering of French butter, too.
6 Scotts Road, #B1-09 Scotts Square | 6636 3672 | maison-kayser.com/en
Best Reuben
From: Nassim Hill Bakery, Bistro & Bar
Price: $16
Nassim Hill’s own artisanal bakers produce this wholemeal beer bread, then stuff it with sliced corn beef, melted emmental cheese, sauerkraut, onions and Russian dressing. Though the origins of the Reuben Sandwich are disputed, purists agree it should come with dark rye bread – but hey, does it matter? We’re on the other side of the globe from the original Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York. Wash it down with the gorgeous Grimbergen 1128 draft beer used in the making of the bread.
56 Tanglin Road (opposite Tanglin Mall) #01-03 Tanglin Post Office | 6834 1128 | imaginings.com.sg
Best Guilt-free Sandwich
From: The Living Café
Price: $14
One bite of this Portobello Burger makes you feels oh-so-bad, when in reality you’re being angelically good. Just look at it – it’s two pieces of wholemeal bun layered with a grilled Portobello mushroom, raw taco meat (that’s raw as in “raw food” – it’s actually diced walnuts and spices that are mixed to recreate a minced meat mouth-feel) and “cheesy” sauce made from raw cashew milk with bell pepper. Add slices of lettuce and tomato for a taste that you mustn’t knock until you’ve tried it. Sides of coleslaw and baked sweet potato wedges – both the purple and orange varieties –make this one heck of a meal while sparing your precious waistline. And, not one hair of a cow’s head is harmed in the process.
779 Bukit Timah Road | 6468 4482 | balancedlivingasia.com/the-living-cafe
Best Steak Sandwich, Best Open-Faced
From: CA* California
Price: $13.80
The secret to making this delicious open-faced sandwich is simply using the freshest and best ingredients. CA* California bakes its own bread from scratch, and that includes the grilled tomato focaccia, the main ingredient in the Open Faced Woodside Mushroom Blast. The sandwich comes with a generous serving of almost-crunchy oven-baked mushrooms served on a bed of rocket salad. There’s no complicated dressing – just a dab of cream cheese and some fresh herbs; plus, you get a side of tomato and orange slices. Although CA* California is remaining tight-lipped, we’re pretty sure there might be a secret ingredient too, because we had a blast eating this!
Blk 8, #01-14 Dempsey Road | 6473 3231 | happypeople.sg
Best Foreign-Dish-Turned-Sandwich
From: Sarnies
Cost: $12.90
Lightly crusted chicken breast in freshly baked bread from renowned Nick Vina Artisan Bakery, the Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich is one of Sarnie’s top crowd-pleasers. Choose from rye or white bread and allow a 15-minute wait for the kitchen to cook the schnitzel fresh (there’s no frozen chicken here). Though it’s loaded with crisp romaine lettuce and Sarnies’ homemade mayonnaise, we recommend you up the ante by adding the house-cured bacon and pair it with a refreshing iced lemon mint tea – the coffee selection is also top notch.
Brought to you by an Australian sibling duo, this stellar city spot is laid-back and welcoming with a menu of everything from hearty soups to freshly baked sweets to brighten up even the gloomiest of workdays. Portions are hefty, ingredients are fresh and service is never without a smile. A warning, though: rain or shine, this joint has a loyal following; try to avoid the lunchtime rush or opt for a paper-bag take-out. Experience their style in this video.
137 Telok Ayer Street | 6224 6091 | sarniescafe.com
Eight Honourable Mentions
Tea-smoked chicken sandwich
From: The Moomba Tuckshop
Location: CBD (4 Battery Road, #B1-01)
Smoked salmon avocado sandwich with cream cheese
From: Group Therapy
Location: Chinatown (49 Duxton Road, #02-01)
Reuben sandwich
From: The Coastal Settlement
Location: East Coast (200 Netheravon Road)
Smoked turkey, avocado, bacon and cranberry relish on crushed wheat and pumpkin seed bread
From: PS. Café
Location: Orchard (390 Orchard Road, #02 Palais Renaissance)
Tuna on wheat bread with capers, parsley mayo, red onion, tomato and cucumber
From: Caffé Beviamo
Location: Orchard (#02-K1 Tanglin Mall)
Grilled cheese sandwich with fontina, artichoke, arugula and truffle spread on brioche
From: The 2nd Floor
Location: Orchard (10 Claymore Hill, American Club)
Double beef sandwich with Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes on ciabatta
From: The Sandwich Shop
Location: CBD, Changi Business Park and Beach Road
Triple (e.g. avocado alfalfa, ploughman, chunky egg)
From: Simply Sandwich
Location: CBD (120 Robinson Road)
