There’s nothing novel about it now, but a certain joy remains in going fingers-first for a compact-but-packs-a-punch white-bread sandwich at a fancy restaurant or wine bar.

Recent hits include Cutler’s, scallop-edged with a cluster of fried whitebait; Anchovy’s, slathered in anchovy paste; and Inuman’s, all shattery shards of chicken skin.

But a new contender has caught the attention of Sandwich watch – a column dedicated to the essential Melbourne sandwiches you need to know about – at Armadale wine bar Auterra, which flies under the radar despite having a three-hatted sibling, Amaru, just down the road.

This sandwich was inspired by chef-owner Clinton McIver’s childhood memories of fish ‘n’ chip shops in Queensland, where he’d eat potato scallops (cakes) doused in vinegar and tartare sauce. But there are no spuds involved in this fancified spin.

In a world of chicken schnitzels, be an abalone one

Impressed by the abalone he was using at Amaru, McIver decided to hero it at Auterra, too, in a schnitzel sandwich. To start, live baby black lip or Jade Tiger varieties are sourced from Footscray’s D&K Live Seafood. They’re marinated overnight in rice koji to “enhance their natural umami and assist with tenderising … without completely removing their texture,” says McIver, then lightly breaded and flash-fried to order.

As soon as the plump golden pucks fly out the fryer, they’re hit with a wafer-thin slice of guanciale (cured pork jowl), either house-made or from chef-favourite meat supplier Gamekeepers. Immediately, the ribbons of fat start melting into the still-steaming abalone. “It’s essentially the seasoning – a nice injection of salt,” says McIver.

Eat your greens

To balance out the sandwich’s fatty, deep-fried showpiece, “We needed something that was acidic enough to still make it kind of light,” McIver says. “And it couldn’t just be a boring tartare.”

After some to-ing and fro-ing, he settled on a vibrant, vinegary green ranch dressing, made by blitzing up a heap of fresh chives and wild garlic preserved from last season with a glug of sauerkraut “juice” to subtly level up the funk factor.

“Everything has to be detailed, and those little details really add up,” says McIver. Such is the excellence of this sanger: it might be small but there’s a schnitz-load going on.

Then, to add freshness and extra crunch, there’s an organic leaf or two: maybe butter or oak lettuce, or even mustard leaves, from a top supplier such as Ramarro Farm or Natoora.

It might be small but there’s a schnitz-load going on.

Not your average sliced bread

Holding it all together are two crustless rounds of shokupan, or Japanese milk bread, cut from loaves that the team bakes in-house. It’s less sweet and more structurally sound than you might expect from the often cloud-like bread. But while the shokupan is not so fluffy as to stick to the roof of your mouth, it’s spongy enough to soak up all the flavours.

The perfect wine pairing?

McIver suggests a chablis: the all-organic Le Domaine d’Henri Saint Pierre 2022.

How do I get one?

The abalone schnitzel sandwich ($18) is available at Auterra, 1160 High Street, Armadale, auterrawinebar.com.au, Monday to Thursday from 5pm, Friday from 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday from noon.

This is the latest instalment of Sandwich watch, a column dedicated to the sandwiches you need to know about.