Manpuku Sando

This cozy little place serves delicious Sandos paired with their homemade ramen soup .

A classic done right, the Fuwatoro Tamago Sando ($14.80) was nicely executed too. Laced with a gentle truffle aroma, the egg filling was foolproof. Once again, nice bread-to-filling ratio. Wonderfully seasoned, the egg mayo was also superbly creamy and textured with chunks of egg whites. Oh, and every order comes with homemade rusks and a yummy little teacup of hot soup - mine was a comforting peppered chicken broth that day.

A sandwich bar by day, izakaya by night; Manpuku Sando has some solid (albeit pricey) sarnies.

Prepared a la minute, the Beko - Beef Steak Sando ($24.80) was a hearty stack with juicy beef steak, gooey cheese, sweet grilled red capsicum, savoury tartar sauce and crunchy lettuce. Loving the meat-to-vege ratio, the satisfying signature combo didn’t feel too heavy. Though there were some slightly chewier parts to the thick quality cut, it fortunately did not take away any enjoyment from me as the perfectly medium rare center was simply delish and so succulent. Expect each bite to be bursting with flavour.

Caught wind about the opening of a new Manpuku Sando that had opened its doors rather recently in Cuppage Plaza. Located in the basement, it seems that Manpuku Sando is an establishment that is somewhat affiliated with Dosukoi x Donpachi; a Japanese Izakaya which had been operating at Cuppage Plaza for a while and was also where a curated Kakigori menu by a brand name of Fuwa Fuwa was served after Fuwa Fuwa had moved out of its premises at Citygate. Despite the affiliation between the two, Manpuku Sando actually has a different entrance door from Dosukoi x Donpachi; the door to Manpuku Sando being clearly marked with their own branding and with clear signage where one can also get to see the menu of what Manpuku Sando has to offer as well. As one enters Manpuku Sando, there is a certain Japanese bar-vibe that goes on in here; the simply-decorated space does have a dedicated bar counter, and most of its seating are actually located at the said bar counter save for two dining tables that can accommodate for two to four pax each. It is interesting to note that Manpuku Sando only operates from Mondays to Saturdays, from 11am to 3pm; thus makes it a lunch-only affair. As the namesake of the establishment suggests, Manpuku Sando is all about sandwiches — think savoury sandwiches featuring meats ranging from smoked salmon to chicken and beef, as well as items like the Fuwatoro (i.e. Truffle Tamago Sando) and the Kinoko (i.e. Portobello Sando). Of course, there is also a sweet Sando on the menu which would be the A.C.B. (i.e. Anko Cream Butter Sando), while beverage options interestingly includes hot / cold craft ginger ale and cola options alongside more common beverages like coffee, orange juice and a small selection of tea.

One of the items that had caught our attention when we were skimming through the menu at Manpuku Sando was the Beko Beef Steak Sando. The item is one that took up the most space on the printed menu, and is the only one on the printed menu that is labelled as a “must try!” item. The menu describes the Beko Beef Steak Sando to come with elements such as butter, beef steak, cheese, red capsicum, tartar sauce, basil and leaf lettuce. It is well-noted from the menu that Manpuku Sando is an establishment which serves up sandwiches that “artfully merge health and indulgence” and that it is “precisely crafted with fresh, nutrient-rich ingredients” — there is definitely some effort by the folks here in creating something wholesome, hearty and yet healthy for their patrons here. The Sandos here are noted to be sliced into halves when served; each of the Sando order also seems to be accompanied with a small cup of soup that comes complimentary on the side (we did note that any additional servings of the soup is chargeable, and listed as an item in the beverage menu however). On first sight, one can definitely see how generous they are with the beef steak that comes with the sandwich; quite a thick slab that is done seemingly medium rare (we weren’t asked for a preferred level of doneness), whilst there is also stringy, melted cheese as well.

Sinking our teeth into the Beko Beef Steak Sando, it is no doubt that the elements here are fresh as promised — while they had used some sort of brown-coloured bread, the bread here remains light, soft and fluffy and does not seem to have been toasted beforehand. That being said, this actually went well with all of the condiments that come in between, considering there are some soft elements like red capsicum and slices of tomatoes that would inherently make it messy to eat by hand if the bread had been toasted. The highlight here is no doubt the beef steak; the doneness of the beef is just right that it was easy to chew without feeling particularly raw even though it may look intimidating to some at first sight — all that without being particularly gamey and had a slight smokiness that came with it from the grilling process. The beef steak is also immensely juicy, with the bread being able to absorb most of the juices from the beef steak that gave it quite a fair bit of flavour. One thing we did note is that they didn’t really quite go crazy on the sauces for this one — the Beko Beef Steak Sandwich definitely felt like a clean eat apart from how meaty it was; the slices of tomatoes and lettuce were really fresh with the former being juicy, slightly tangy and refreshing to the tastebuds, while the latter was crisp without any noticeable hint of lingering bitterness that we have encountered with some leaf lettuces from dishes served up at other establishments. It is also noted that the aroma of the basil used was especially evident as well despite all that was going on in the sandwich; adds a flavour contrast to the entire deal. We have also tried the A.C.B. (i.e. Anko Cream Butter Sando) which features whipped cream, butter and earthy red beans with toasted bread; fits well for those who loves the combination — also tried the Craft Cola (Hot) which was pretty gingery with herbal notes that wasn’t too sweet. With Sandos priced between $14.80 to $24.80, Manpuku Sando’s might not be the most wallet-friendly around though what makes them worthy of the mention is probably how authentically Japanese these are with a clear emphasis on being wholesome and hearty — definitely something worthy to look at as an option less the “sin” and “burden” that some may associate with Sandos in general.