All too often, a sandwich is nothing but a quick fix that we grab on the go or hastily slap together in the morning before work – but there’s no reason why it can’t be a more indulgent treat, too. We asked three sandwich aficionados to share recipes that will make a break from the standard ham and cheese or tuna mayo.

One of our favourite lunch options is the croissant sandwich from Urban Bakery. We were just a month too early for the seasonal hairy crab croissant sandwiches, but Rico Cheng, Urban’s marketing manager and sometimes-chef, created an equally decadent, off-the-menu lobster on buttery brioche buns just for HJ.

Meanwhile, Little Bao’s May Chow showed us how spending four hours cooking her delicious, succulent, Asian-inspired sandwiches can be worthwhile. Her Korean braised short rib bao is reminiscent of Momofuku’s wildly popular pork belly buns, only better. The baos proved to be a runaway hit at their Island East Markets debut last year, and May’s restaurant is expected to open any minute now.

Lastly, Kitty Chan of Frey & Ford, known for its signature petite smorrebrod-esque open sandwiches, whipped up an easy-to-make option: tomato and Parmesan bruschetta. Simple, light and delicious – the healthy snack certainly helped reduce our dietary guilt after our lobster and short rib blow out.

The Sandwich Makers

Rico Cheng, Marketing Manager at Urban Bakery

After graduating in Canada with a degree in economics, Rico returned to Hong Kong to work in finance. But after a year in the industry, his dream of becoming a chef led him to quit his job to enrol in a nine-month programme at Le Cordon Bleu in London. He subsequently trained at Greenhouse and Arbutus in London, and Caprice in Hong Kong. His title might say marketing manager, but he still finds time to create new recipes in Urban’s kitchens.

 

May Chow, Chef and Restaurateur at Little Bao

May has been working as a chef for seven years, in restaurants such as Bo Innovation, TBLS and Yardbird. Since the baos debuted at Island East Markets last year, they have been spotted at Clockenflap festival, and at events held by Monocle and Nike. She’ll be opening her first restaurant later this month at 66 Staunton Street. Once open, diners can expect more of her Asian-inspired cuisine – dishes that will perfectly complement the bao.

 

Kitty Chan, Shop Manager at Frey & Ford

Before Kitty joined Frey & Ford, she had worked as an actuary for eight years. Despite not having any formal training in food and beverage, she picked up tricks of the trade when she used to help her parents in their takeaway shop in Sydney. Frey & Ford is a joint venture with friends from Sydney who have also returned to Hong Kong. It opened in 2010, born out of their frustration at the lack of shops that would make fresh sandwiches on the spot.

 

The Sandwiches

Urban Bakery's Lobster brioche roll with an olive oil emulsion

Serves 3

Ingredients

Olive oil emulsion:

2 soft-boiled eggs

olive oil

 

Sandwich filling:

450 g or 3 lobster tails

10 g chives

10 g tarragon

10 g dill

10 g shallots

zest of lime

juice from half a lime

 

3 brioche buns

 

Instructions

Blend two soft-boiled eggs until smooth. Set aside to cool. Slowly pour in olive oil until you reach a mayonnaise-like viscosity. Cook the lobster tails in boiling water with salt and lime juice for about 3-4 minutes. Roughly chop the lobsters, and toss together with herbs, shallots, lime zest, juice and olive oil emulsion. Spoon filling into brioche buns.

 

Little Bao's Korean braised short rib bao with homemade pickles, salad and mustard vinaigrette

Serves 8-10

 

Ingredients

Sweet soy braised short ribs:

2.5 kg whole short rib, bone in, sinews and excess fat removed. Ask the butcher to cut into mantou-sized pieces

4 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, grated

20 g ginger, grated

2 pears, grated

30 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

85 ml light soy sauce

22 ml dark soy sauce

13 ml rice wine vinegar

25 g brown sugar 

 

Pickles:

150 g sugar

300 ml vinegar

600 ml water

4 small cucumbers, cut to 3mm slices

1 semi-firm pear, cut to thin sticks

1 red onion, sliced to shreds

2 tbsp salt

 

Mustard vinaigrette:

1 small clove of garlic, finely minced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

6 tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Salad:

2 leeks, white only, julienne

10 shiso leaves, finely cut to shreds

5 baby radishes, cut to wafer thin slices

50 g arugula

5 g toasted sesame seeds

Pickled pear

 

10 mantous, steamed according to instructions on the packaging and cut into halves

Instructions

Blanch short ribs under medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Wash and dry off. Over medium-high heat, add oil and sear the meat until a deep brown colour. Set aside. Over high heat, add onion, ginger, pears, peppercorns, bay leaf, soy sauces, rice wine vinegar and brown sugar to oil. Add meat, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat, braise for three hours until soft. Remove meat, and reduce sauce. To make the pickling juice, bring sugar and water to a boil. Remove from heat. Add vinegar and cool. Sprinkle salt over cucumbers, toss well. Drain excess water in a colander; squeeze to remove remaining water. Place inside a container with a third of the juice, cover with lid. Repeat with red onion. Add remaining juice to the pear in a container, cover with lid. Refrigerate pickles for four hours. Whisk together garlic, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season. Mix together the shiso, radish, leek and arugula. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Drain pickled pear, add to salad, toss well with mustard vinaigrette. Assemble a piece of short rib (bone removed) with salad and pickles between mantou halves.

 

Frey & Ford's Bruschetta with tomato, basil and Parmesan

Serves 3

 

Ingredients

1 cup seeded tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tbsp onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp basil, finely chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

3 baguette slices

Parmesan, grated

 

Instructions

Mix the tomatoes, onion and basil together with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, adding salt and pepper to taste. In an oven or on a pan, lightly toast three slices of white baguette drizzled with olive oil. Add salsa mixture onto baguette slices, and serve with grated Parmesan.