Wanpaku Sandwiches Hide on L'Esplanade Laurier's Mezzanine

Finding a wanpaku sandwich in Ottawa means heading to the second-floor mezzanine of the L'Esplanade Laurier concourse and tracking down a small café counter serving federal workers from the offices above.

Xiang Xu has been making the layered Japanese specialty for six years at Some Coffee & Some Tea. The neatly boxed cross-sections reveal colourful stacks of crisp-edged tempura — chicken, shrimp, or vegetables — packed with ribbons of purple cabbage, cheddar cheese, and a line of house-made sauce.

Wanpaku, the Japanese word for "mischievous," perfectly fits the overstuffed sandwiches. The format — thick stack of breaded protein, shredded lettuce, cheese, and sauce between two bread slices, cut straight down the middle and wrapped in parchment — took off on Japanese Instagram in the late 2010s and leapt to Korea and the rest of Asia, though it has yet to catch on in Canada. Xu's versions are likely the only ones in the city.

Everything on the menu comes in under $10. Options range from vegetarian tomato and basil ($8.95) to meat fillings ($9.25 to $9.75). Because the café has no dedicated kitchen, fried proteins are prepared in advance to keep the lunch-rush line moving by noon. By 1 p.m., the surrounding food court seating empties, making it a good time to visit for a quiet table and no wait at the counter.

Of three wanpaku sandwiches sampled, the shrimp was a clear favourite. The tempura is crisp and the sauce — made in-house with Japanese mustard — has a strong kick like wasabi but different. The tartar on the chicken version has pleasant tang mixed with relish and lemon juice.

If you arrive early, Xu serves pressed breakfast sandwiches from 7:30 a.m. — egg and cheese ($4.75), bacon ($7.25), or ham ($7.15) sealed in a melted pocket. The house-baked Basque cheesecake in the pastry case sells out fast.