Samwitch Review: Loaded Sandwiches With Flame-Torched Cheese And More In Hougang

Samwitch in Hougang

Located near the roundabout at Hougang Central is the popular sandwich store, Samwitch. The kiosk was founded by a pair of gym bros, Sam and Jin, who wanted to bring protein-rich food suitable for gym-goers to the heartlands. They’ve recently opened a second outlet in Clementi following the raving success of the original.

Samwitch’s menu is simple and features their chicken, beef, and fish sandos as its stars. I had seen numerous photos of their loaded sandos on Instagram, and I visited the shop brimming with high expectations.

Food at Samwitch

We started with the Chicken Sando ($9) and upgraded our bread to the Premium White Toast ($1) as compared to their regular bread. The neatly-wrapped chicken sando came with a generous portion of meat, accompanied by a blanket of shredded carrots and torched cheese. 

Although the chicken was moist and tender thanks to the sous-vide process, I would have preferred it to be more heavily seasoned. The most intriguing element in the sandwich was the strawberry jam, which added a sweetness that surprisingly complemented the savoury cheese.

The Fish Sando ($9) was loaded with moist white flaky fish and garnished with cherry tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts. I was not a fan of the alfalfa as I personally disliked the raw aftertaste it left, even though it was doused somewhat excessively with tangy Thousand Island dressing. Similarly, I also found the fish to be underseasoned, although this could be due in part to Sam and Jin wanting to keep the food healthier.

As we took some time to photograph the food, it resulted in the sando becoming rather soggy. I would recommend topping up for the Premium White Toast as it gives you thicker slices of bread, which would probably better sponge up the dressing while still retaining its crustiness. This is a sandwich that’s best eaten quickly after it’s made.

I appreciate Samwitch’s intent behind torching the liberal amount of cheese on their sandwiches as it adds an overall smokiness. Even though the cheese seemed torched a tad beyond the point of caramelisation, my colleagues thought that it was just right.

While we had originally planned to try the Beef Sando ($11), we were dismayed to learn that they had run out of meat, with the next batch only being available after 12:30pm. This was despite us coming only an hour after the store’s opening. Nonetheless, diners can at least seek comfort in knowing that their beef is marinated in-house before it’s slow-cooked in small batches to ensure quality. 

Instead, we ordered the Truffle Warm Salad ($8), which came with blanched broccoli, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, and a side of egg mayonnaise. The salad was tossed with tartufata—a truffle and olive salsa. When we opened the box, we were pleasantly greeted by its fragrance, but found that it didn’t stand out in terms of taste. I found myself wishing that the salad came with some of that tart dressing from the fish sandwich.

On the side, we had the Sea Salt Macchiato ($4) and Banana Milk ($5). The former was garnished with pieces of lemon rind that albeit being thick, added a fruity scent to the tea.

I expected the Banana Milk to bear some semblance to the largely-artificial Korean banana milk drink, but was pleasantly surprised that it came with banana puree topped with fresh milk. With that said, I felt that the drink would have been even better in the form of a milkshake, which would fully incorporate the banana puree with the milk. 

Ambience at Samwitch

Samwitch occupies a tiny space three minutes away from Hougang MRT Station, with only a tiny wooden table for two along the walkway, and counter space for one within the shop. I recommend getting the sandos for takeaway as the surroundings can get quite noisy when a queue builds up.

Do note that each sandwich takes about 15 minutes to prepare, and there isn’t much space around the shop to wait for your order. We arrived at 10am and noticed that there was no lack of customers during the two hours that we were there, so be prepared to wait.

The verdict

True to the founders’ motto, every sandwich order at Samwitch is packed with protein, and painstakingly assembled with a mould. I couldn’t help but find it a shame that we were not able to try their famed beef sandwich, along with their fruit sando and IG-famous strawberry milk. Perhaps it was because we visited the store at the end of the week, but I wish they would have had more items available. Between the chicken and fish sando, I liked the chicken more as I enjoyed the sweet-savoury contrast but I would not go out of my way to come back.

If you’re looking for other places to dine in Hougang, check out our review of 682 Min Jiang Kueh for pancakes filled from end-to-end, or look at Ah Ma Chi Mian for bak chor mee that is available 24/7.

Address: 806 Hougang Central, #01-152, Singapore 530806
Opening hours: Daily 9am to 8pm
Tel: 8901 0592
Website
Samwitch is not a halal-certified eatery but uses no pork or lard.

Photos taken by Zadelin Wong.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.