My first ever sandwich was made by a schoolgirl who knew nothing about bagels, sourdough or artisanal bread.
That schoolgirl was me.
I mashed sardines between two slices of buttered bread, added some pickled onion and, with a little tomato ketchup in the mix, thought I had made something rather wonderful.
Later came sambal hae bee sandwiches. In my 20s, dear Esther Lim showed me how to make pinwheel sandwiches. Then Subway landed in Penang and suddenly I could choose my bread, pile on the fillings and, most importantly, go wild with the sauces.
I was hooked.
These days, sandwiches in Penang have come a long way from my schoolgirl sardine creation. We have chewy bagels, crusty sourdough, deli sandwiches, Japanese sando, fresh-baked Italian bread and a proper Vietnamese bánh mì.
I’ve eaten my way through quite a few of them. Some I’ve tried once. Hudson Deli has seen me five times. Sad Panda three times. The FOUNDERS twice. And Subway? Almost every week.
So this is my personal sandwich list, based on what I’ve actually eaten rather than a collection of Google ratings. Some I love, some I’m less excited about, and some simply make me want to go back for another sandwich.
Contents
Classic sandwiches
I still crave these and will complain bitterly if there are none on a high-tea set.
Murphy used to tease me, “You MUST have your Queen Elizabeth cucumber finger sandwich, izzit?”
Well, we all live with certain pretences.
At least I don’t go around telling everyone I have a princess lifestyle, then have to no answer to questions like,
“Where is your kingdom? Where is your military? And what is the King’s name?” 😂
So yes, I like my little pretences. Give me cucumber finger sandwiches, crumpets and coffee crumb cake, and I’m perfectly happy.
I’m also perfectly happy without. LOL.
Sama Sand Wish’s Monday Special Spicy Tamago Sando with toasted bread, tamago and crisp shredded cabbage.
Sama Sand Wish
Sama Sand Wish made its name during MCO, and their online orders are still buzzing today. What I love is the balance—no soggy mess like Subway. Their Monday Special Spicy Tamago RM9.90 comes generously buttered and toasted, packing a thin, crunchy-battered tamago crust alongside crisp shredded cabbage for that perfect crunch. Paired with a big, hearty cup of coffee hit just the way I like it, it’s easily one of the most reliable sandwich spots in Penang.
A Subway sandwich with way too much dressing. Messy, saucy and somehow I still have one almost every week. 😂
Subway
When Subway first landed in Penang, it was at Gurney Walk, and I still remember standing in a 40-strong queue just to get a sub.
At the time, being able to choose your bread, pile on the toppings and then pick from all those sauces felt wonderfully novel.
I had a friend who got so hooked that she had a Subway for breakfast every morning and, guess what? All the sauces. She piled on 6kg, or so she claimed. 😂
It really was that good.
And some habits stick. To this day, I still have a Subway at least once a week.
Yin’s Sourdough
If you don’t appreciate the natural sour tang and chewy crust of real sourdough, Yin’s Sourdough isn’t for you. It’s a bit like bánh mì—some crusts get so hard they almost scrape your gums!
Jokes aside, Yin’s fans love how light their fillings are, letting the toasted bread take center stage without feeling overly heavy. But if you’re like me and prefer a pillowy soft bite, this crusty sourdough sandwich might not be your jam.
Penang Bagel Boom
For years, if you wanted a bagel in Penang, you had only a handful of places to look. Then around 2022, dedicated handmade bagel shops started popping up and suddenly bagels were having their moment.
JOJA Bagels was one of the early names I noticed, while places like The Mugshot Cafe had already been serving bagels alongside their breads since the early 2010s.
Then came more players, from Dawn Bread to The FOUNDERS Hutton, with bigger bakery names such as Kenny Hills Bakers joining the Penang scene too.
And here’s the funny part. I tasted my very first Salmon & Cream Cheese bagel way back around 2013 at Coffee Bean.
So yes, I may have been a little late to the Penang bagel party, but at least I know where my bagel journey started. 😂
The FOUNDERS
The Founders Cafe and The Founders Bakery boldly market their food with the tagline “World’s Best Bagels.” Used heavily across social media and in-store branding, it’s a catchy marketing slogan rather than an official award.
Irene roped me in to give them a shot. We tried their self-proclaimed specialty hand-rolled bagels, but the exact details elude me after two years and dozens of other café visits in between.
I likely ordered a seed-heavy sesame rye, pumpernickel, or whole-wheat bagel with a thick spread of cream cheese; hoping the grains would offset the indulgence with health benefits!
Long story short: I wasn’t particularly impressed, or perhaps I just ordered the wrong item that day.
Classic Lox with generous smoked salmon and scallion cream cheese from JOJA Bagels. The filling was borderline chaotic, escaping from every side. 😂
JOJA Bagels
JOJA Bagels on Bishop Street is often busy, and on my visit I was prepared to wait. I went for the Classic Lox and it was outstanding, with generous smoked salmon and thick scallion cream cheese in a properly chewy bagel. The filling was almost borderline chaotic, escaping from all sides. Bring an appetite, because these are seriously substantial bagels.
Deli-Style Sandwich Spots in Penang
On my wishlist is eating at Katz’s Delicatessen, ordering a Reuben with the works, holding that famous gold ticket, hunting for a seat and munching on one of those giant pickles.
Alas, the closest I get to that New York deli dream in Penang is Hudson Deli.
Is their Reuben good? Honestly, I don’t know. I have no other Reuben to compare it with. What I do know is that mine wasn’t piping hot, and that matters to me with a sandwich like this.
My only real comparison is Bottega, where the chef makes the bread fresh for me. And fresh-baked bread is a tough act to beat.
Hudson Deli’s RM21 Reuben with beef pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and cocktail dressing on rye.
Hudson Deli
I’ve been to Hudson Deli five times, so this one has had more than a fair chance with me.
The Reuben, comes with beef pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and cocktail dressing on rye. I ate half and packed the other half for breakfast.
It still tasted great the next day. Now that’s a sandwich I’d remember.
Bottega’s Roulé with Parma ham and creamy mozzarella, made with freshly baked panuozzo.
Bottega
Fresh-baked Italian-style sandwich
I’d happily drop RM30 on this Roulé. The chef fires the panuozzo, made from pizza dough, fresh to order, giving the bread that lovely chew.
Add salty Parma ham and creamy mozzarella and you have a substantial sandwich where the quality of the ingredients really shows.
For me, this is RM30 well spent at Bottega.
Naturally, the one day I went was the only day Bánh Mì Phượng was closed. 😂
Bánh mì
Back when I travelled around Vietnam, I practically lived on bánh mì, eating my way through roadside carts and local spots in Hanoi, Hoi An and Saigon. Even the Vietnamese community spot in Geylang became a daily habit for me.
My benchmark is a proper Special Bánh Mì, stuffed with four kinds of house-cured chả lụa, pork pâté, char siu, pickles and that sweet-savoury sauce.
To this day, it’s tough finding a local spot that hits those exact flavours, especially when it comes to the pâté and chả lụa.
For me, the real test is simple. How often do I actually want to go back?
I remember being mildly obsessed with eating bánh mì in Geylang, Singapore.
Banh Mi Kitchen
In Penang, Banh Mi Kitchen comes pretty close and does a roaring business. You can’t directly compare Penang to Vietnam, but for local standards, it’s a solid Vietnamese sandwich.
I tried the Saigon Chicken—a lovely, juicy, well-marinated chicken thigh tucked into a crisp baguette. The bread is flaky without disintegrating into a messy disaster all over the table, which is a massive win for a messy eater like me!
Japanese Style Sandwich
When I first visited Japan, some friend told me I must die-die eat the Japanese milk bread because it tasted like clouds.
Anyone actually tasted clouds? Hehehe.
Anyway, I did. I found some at a convenience store and bought those pre-packed Japanese sandwiches, which was all I could afford at the time. Then I ate some more.
Japanese milk bread, or shokupan, is that wonderfully soft, fluffy bread with a thin crust and a slightly chewy, moist crumb. Once I got to know it, I understood why the Japanese sando is all about letting that soft bread shine.
Taste by Bert’s speciality sando made with soft Japanese shokupan.
So when my friend Bert started his sando business, Taste by Bert, this was exactly the kind of sandwich I wanted to try.
Not FamilyMart. Not another convenience-store version. I wanted to see what Bert could do with that beautiful shokupan.
Sad Panda’s fresh shokupan, the soft Japanese milk bread used for its sando.
Sad Panda
I’ve been to Sad Panda three times, and the shokupan itself is probably the thing I like most about their sandos. It is wonderfully fluffy, exactly the sort of soft Japanese bread I enjoy.
The Egg Mayo Sando is the one I’d happily go back for. The filling works nicely with the soft bread.
The Tuna Mayo Sando, however, needs a little more R&D for me. The filling was very paste-like in texture and didn’t have enough going on to make me want another.
Three visits later, I’m still remembering the bread more than the sandwich. And honestly, that tells me something.
Got a sandwich I should try?
This is my personal sandwich list, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few.
If there’s a sandwich in Penang that you think I should try, tell me about it. I’m always happy to investigate, especially if there’s a good piece of bread involved. 😂
Leave me a comment or send me a message. I might just add your recommendation to my next sandwich hunt.
