It was love at first bite with this triumphant egg, sausage and cheese muffin
What makes it exceptional is the spiced sausage, fluffy house-made muffin and tangy banana ketchup. Plus two more ace breakfast sandwiches to try.
There’s more to breakfast sandwiches than bacon and egg rolls. Take Tita’s egg, cheese and longganisa (spiced pork sausage) on a house-made pandesal muffin, for example.
It’s a star at this Marrickville carinderia, a Filipino street eatery serving affordable breakfast, lunch classics and home-style dishes (and one of Good Food’s top 20 cafes of 2024). “I wanted an entryway for someone not familiar with Filipino food,” says co-owner Kenneth Rodriguez of the petite yet mighty roll.
It was love at first bite, catching the attention of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the essential sandwiches you need to know about. The aromatic flavours dance on your tongue, and it’s a combination of sweet, savoury and smoky all wrapped up in a wonderfully fluffy muffin.
Tell us more about this muffin
Pandesal is a mildly sweet bread roll eaten daily in the Philippines. Head baker Luisa Brimble makes it with a 72-hour proofed dough, before it is formed into that familiar English muffin shape and baked, then grilled. These pandesal are everything you want in an English muffin, only lighter and airier.
Then comes the filling
When cooking the casingless longganisa pork sausage, it’s pressed down so the sugars in the spice mix caramelise and char. The egg is cracked into a ring to cook and then topped with American cheese. “’Cause that’s just, you know, the best cheese,” says Rodriguez.
A little mayo is added to the roll to balance the flavours, but what brings everything together is the banana ketchup. It’s a bit sweeter than tomato sauce, with a mild tang, not too dissimilar to sweet and sour sauce.
Tell us about Tita Carinderia
Tita (or auntie in Tagalog language) is the work of siblings Kenneth and Karen Rodriguez-Labuni, and Chris Palamara. They grew up spending weekends with their aunt Marlene and, when she unexpectedly passed, they opened the cafe and bakery as a tribute to her.
“I wanted to do a Filipino concept outside what everyone was doing already. I wanted to highlight Filipino breakfast,” Kenneth says.
Where to get one
The egg, cheese and longganisa muffin will set you back $17. Get it Wednesday to Sunday 9am to 3pm at shop 4, 359 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, instagram.com/tita.carinderia
Two more breakfast sandwiches to try
Spiced sausage and egg muffin at Happy Alley ($16)
Inspired by a childhood eating Lebanese sausages sprinkled in Macca’s muffins, owner Ali Barakat’s textural delight hinges on the house-made ma’anek beef sausage patty. Fragrant with nutmeg, cumin and other herbs and spices, it’s piled on a This Is Us sourdough English muffin, which has a crisp outer and soft chewy interior, along with a crunchy hashbrown, melted American cheese, well-cooked egg and sauce. For extra texture, “get your eggs runny,” says Barakat. We agree. Opt for their Happy Sauce for extra pizzazz. 13 Bay Street, Rockdale, happyalley.com.au
Brekky Bun at Respite Breakfast Club ($14)
Respite Bar is the result of three lifelong friends, Simon Nardo and brothers Jackson and Louis Sobb, wanting to bring the inner west experience to the suburb they grew up in, Lugarno. Their Respite Breakfast Club happens Saturday and Sunday from 7.30am, and their signature Brekky Bun is both a revelation and an umami taste bomb. It comes with a house-made pork-and-fennel sausage patty, American cheese, folded egg, ’nduja mayo on a custom 80-gram milk bun. Why that size? “I’d rather it be smaller ... than have it look like a hamburger,” Nardo explains. It’s irresistibly savoury. 1026A Forest Road, Lugarno, instagram.com/respitebreakfastclub
This is the latest instalment of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the Sydney sandwiches you need to know about.