
This massively shrimpy sandwich is the latest marine muse of our lunchroom.
In this increasingly internationalized era, more and more Japanese restaurants provide English translations of their menu items. However, the original Japanese and the translation don’t always match up 100-percent.
For example, in Japan sandwich chain Subway is now selling something called the Zeitaku★Ebi Sand, literally “Luxury★Shrimp Sandwich.” In English, though, not only does it lose the star, it gets the plainer name of Special Shrimp Sandwich.
Being based in Japan might make us a little biased, but we have to say the original Japanese name is the better one here, because simply calling this sandwich “special” doesn’t do justice to how over the top it is.
The Zeitaku★Ebi went on sale April 26, and as soon as our lunch break started we dashed over to the local Subway branch and ordered one. We took the preparer’s advice and got our on white bread, with a Caesar basil sauce.
The clerk handed us our completed, wrapped sandwich, and we were startled at its weight. After lugging it back to the office, we opened up the wrapper, and were greeted by so many shrimp we felt like we were watching a documentary on marine life.
Seafood isn’t the only food you get here, though. In addition to sliced peppers, tomatoes, and onions, there’re also bacon strips and an egg salad spread.
But make no mistake, this is a shrimp-intensive eating experience. Before digging in, we took a count and found that there were 15 shrimp in the sandwich, and they make their delicious presence felt from the first bite to the last.
At 740 yen (US$6.70), the Zeitaku Ebi is on the expensive side for a Subway sandwich, but we came away completely satisfied with the flavor and value, and really, this is the most shrimp you’re likely to get in one meal in Tokyo without splurging for something much more expensive.
Photos ©SoraNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’d like to offer his sympathies to his brother-in-law, who loves shrimp but it also allergic to them.










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