Konbini food just reached new levels of awesomeness, thanks to one very special chain.

When it comes to Japanese convenience stores, the three biggest chains — Family Mart, 7-Eleven and Lawson — tend to steal the spotlight, but up in Hokkaido there’s another chain that has a big presence, and it’s called Seico Mart.

This Hokkaido-born chain was established in 1971, two years before 7-Eleven and Family Mart and four years before Lawson, making it one of the oldest in the country. While it might not be a big name on the mainland, Seico Mart has a cult following with locals and tourists, who love it for its unique products, many of which are locally sourced and produced.

▼ One of those products is the Super Thick Cut Ham Cutlet Egg Sandwich.

This egg sandwich puts all others to shame, as it not only contains ham, it heroes it, with a super thick cut dominating everything, including the two pieces of bread on either side of it.

By comparison, store-bought ham cutlet sandwiches usually look like the one below, with a thin piece of fried breaded meat slathered in sauce that soaks into the bread.

▼ Just one glance at the Seico Mart sandwich tells you this is going to be a very different eating experience.

It’s both a unique type of egg sandwich and a special type of ham cutlet sandwich, and when you eat it, all the ingredients meld beautifully together. It’s like eating a breakfast of bread, eggs and ham, with the meat playing the role of main ingredient.

There’s no skimping on ingredients here — even the size of the bread was much bigger than sandwiches at other convenience stores.

After eating the sandwich on a recent trip to Hokkaido, our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa was still dreaming about its deliciousness weeks later, when he was back in the office in Tokyo. Wanting to share tales of its awesomeness with his colleagues, he decided to approach fellow foodie Takashi Harada, who recently lost five kilos (11 pounds), only to put it back on again due to his insatiable love of food.

▼ Takashi’s attempt to curtail the carbs is an ongoing struggle.

Seiji whipped out his phone to see what effect a sandwich like this would have on Takashi, saying, “Hey, Takashi, check out this photo of a great egg and ham cutlet sandwich I found recently. The meat is amazing, isn’t it? Isn’t the bread wonderfully large? It’s like a carbohydrate festival! You want to eat it, don’t you?”

Without uttering a word, Takashi pulled his head back and gave Seiji a look that made him retreat back to his desk in shame. Takashi’s face had that pained look of a carb-starved man who can no longer eat with the same freedom as a younger lad with a faster metabolism.

▼ “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do you, punk?”

As suspected, the Seico Mart sandwich tested the willpower, and nerves, of Seiji’s calorie-counting colleague, and he’s probably now dreaming about its thick deliciousness in his sleep.

Still, even the strictest of dieters need a cheat day every now and then, and at 429 yen (US$3.18), it’ll pack less of a punch on your wallet than it will on your waistline!

Photos © SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]