If you’re reading this from the south-east, this probably won’t be news to you.

But if you don’t get to Moorabbin much, you might not know that for 15 years, it’s been home to a sandwich shop that gives newer, more hyped openings a run for their money.

It’s all in the name at the no-frills Marko’s Schnitzel, which husband and wife Marko and Maya Abramov opened on an industrial strip of Chesterville Road in 2009.

They serve some of Melbourne’s best chicken schnitzels in never-endingly customisable sangers to a stream of tradies and locals – plus diehards travelling from across town – who have their orders down to a fine art. The process is as follows:

First things first, a vessel

How do you take your schnitzel? On a plate, a fluffy pita or a white sourdough sub? This is Sandwich watch, after all, so we opt for the latter, neither too crusty nor too soft – exactly as the Abramovs intended – so it’s a blank slate for the deliciousness to come.

The all-important schnitzel selection

Every morning, Marko slices the day’s schnitzels (La Ionica chicken breast is his pick) and breads them with one of four house-seasoned crumbs, made to long-standing recipes: garlic and paprika (the most popular, which we go for), a secret herb blend, onion and plain.

Your schnitzel of choice is flash-fried to order, meaning it’s crispy-crusted while still tender and juicy when you unwrap your sub.

How many do they sell a week? “That’s not for the paper [to know]!” says Maya.

Make friends with the salad bar

This is where decision paralysis may set in. “Is it your first time? I can tell,” says Marko as I sheepishly survey the salad bar, its shiny stainless-steel pots piled high with a multicoloured array of freshly cut vegies, and dips and spreads made in-house. It’s like Subway with a Middle Eastern edge – the Abramovs came to Australia from the Soviet Union via Israel.

Taking Marko’s lead, the sub gets a swipe of silky-smooth hummus and spicy “salsa” (“I can’t tell you what’s in it, or I’ll have to kill you and I don’t want to,” he says with a grin). Then a lettuce-tomato-cucumber medley, Moroccan-spiced carrots, shreds of pickled red cabbage and sumac-y red onion, pickles, cheese and a criss-cross of tahini. “Careful, it’s addictive,” Marko says as he hands over the sub.

There’s a lot going on, but he’s right. The first thought upon first bite? Why is home a 45-minute drive from here?

Marko’s expert ratios mean every subsequent bite brings a different ingredient to the fore. Admittedly, the schnitzel’s garlic-and-paprika flavour takes a back seat, so if you want that up front, go lighter and simpler on fillings.

How do I get one?

The schnitzel sub ($15.50 for a six-inch, $18 for a footlong) is available to dine in (at a handful of stools) or take away at Marko’s Schnitzel, 2/159 Chesterville Road, Moorabbin, open Monday-Friday, 7am-2.30pm.

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

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