Step into any Japanese konbini, and you'll find yourself surrounded by shelves stacked high with meticulously crafted snacks and meals, each offering surprising quality and convenience. Among the kings of konbini food reigns the humble yet beloved tamago sando, Japan's answer to the classic egg salad sandwich. Unlike Western egg sandwiches that tend to be chunky and heavy on the mayo, a Japanese konbini egg sandwich boasts an impossibly creamy, delicate filling nestled between slices of soft, pillowy milk bread. But with each convenience store chain offering its own unique twist, the ultimate question arises: who truly makes the best konbini egg sandwich? Today, I'm tasting the contenders from 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart to find out!
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The Contenders
With a convenience store on almost every block in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka, the competition among konbini chains is fierce. Each one offers its unique spin on tamago sando.
FamilyMart Egg Sandwich
FamilyMart, often abbreviated to Famima, is the second-largest konbini chain in Japan, and unlike the other two (which were acquired by Japanese companies) it's a homegrown convenience store chain. FamilyMart's egg sandwich is the thinnest and cheapest of the three, with the least amount of protein, but over double the amount of sodium of the other two sandwiches.
7-Eleven Egg Sandwich
7-Eleven is the largest convenience store chain in Japan, and their egg salad sandwich reflects their status as it is the largest, heaviest, and most expensive of the bunch, and it comes in at 340 calories.
Lawson Egg Sandwich
Lawson is the third-largest convenience store chain in Japan, and their egg sandwich has the most carbs, thanks to the special bread it uses that's 30% thicker than the other two sandwiches.
By the Numbers
Konbini Egg Sandwich Breakdown
When it comes to the perfect konbini egg sandwich, every element counts—from the soft, airy bread to the silky, flavorful egg filling nestled inside. To find the best, I've broken down each sandwich into key components, crowning a winner in every category.
Packaging
All three of the sandwiches come in a similar plastic wrapper, but they all have slightly different mechanisms to unwrap them. FamilyMart and 7-Eleven's both involve a 3-step process that I found difficult to open and this is exacerbated by the fact that 7-Eleven's sandwich has so much filling (it was squeezing out all over the place). Lawson uses a brilliant 1-step pull tab that makes it easy to get the sandwich out.
WINNER: Lawson
Bread
Both the 7-Eleven and FamilyMart egg sandwich is on 1cm thick Japanese sandwich bread that has had the crust cut off. They're pretty unremarkable, but Lawson's egg salad is sandwiched between bread that's 1.3cm thick, and it has a mild sweetness and moist, slightly chewy crumb that's very satisfying.
WINNER: Lawson
Filling
7-Eleven's egg sandwich has the most filling by far, and it's trailed by FamilyMart, and then Lawson.
WINNER: 7-Eleven
Taste
The FamilyMart egg sandwich was heavily seasoned and was too salty for my tastes. 7-Eleven's sandwich is the most mildly flavored and had an almost home-made taste. Lawson's sandwich had the most sugar, making it relatively sweet, which I enjoyed.
WINNER: 7-Eleven & Lawson
Flavor
The 7-Eleven sandwich has the most egg flavor, probably because it includes the most egg, but the FamilyMart sandwich included some onion notes, which gave it the most exciting flavor profile.
WINNER: FamilyMart
Texture
Only the FamilyMart sandwich included chunks of egg yolk in their egg salad, which I enjoyed, but I have to give this to 7-Eleven as it included huge pieces of egg white which gave their sandwich the best texture.
WINNER: 7-Eleven
The Best Konbini Egg Sandwich
Each sandwich has its strengths and weaknesses, and it's a tough call naming just one. I liked the flavor of the FamilyMart sandwich, and the bread and packaging of the Lawson egg sandwich, but if I look at the big picture, the sandwich I can see myself buying again is the 7-Eleven egg salad sandwich. It's loaded with eggs, which makes it taste a bit like deviled eggs in a sandwich, and with its high protein content and relatively low carb content, it seems like the least unhealthy of the three.
Make it at Home
If you're not in Japan and want to try these at home, I have good news! I've rolled everything I learned from this showdown into an easy recipe for a homemade Japanese egg sandwich that combines all the best aspects of all three konbini tamago sando.
FAQs
Konbini is the Japanese word for "convenience store." It comes from the transliteration of "convenience store," which is konbiniensu sutoa. Because that's quite a mouthful, it's been abbreviated to konbini.
Tamagosando (卵サンド), literally means "egg sandwich" in Japanese.
Egg salad sandwiches didn't originate in Japan, but like many foods in the modern Japanese diet, it's a Western dish that's been adapted to suit Japanese tastes. The key differences are:
1. The konbini egg sandwich is all about the egg, so there are no pickles, celery, or raw onions added.
2. The egg salad is seasoned with Japanese mayonnaise such as Kewpie. Japanese mayo tends to be more tart than American mayo, with a mild sweetness and robust umami that gives it a bit more flavor.
3. The egg salad is sandwiched between two slices of Japanese sandwich bread called Shokupan (食パン). It's fluffier and airier than western loaves, but it has a slightly chewy texture that makes for a nice contrast with the creamy, dense filling.
Like most things in life, the best egg sandwich is going to depend on your personal preferences. FamilyMart has the most well-seasoned sandwich, so I'd recommend it for people who like a lot of seasonings in their food and don't mind if it's a bit salty. 7-Eleven's sandwich includes the most egg, so I'd recommend it for people who want lots of protein with less filler. Lawson's sandwich has more bread than egg, and it's the sweetest of the bunch, so I'd recommend it for people who don't mind the carbs and likes a balance of sweet and savory.
Neville Stock says
I really enjoyed your 3 meal article as well as the egg sandwich comparison. For my taste, I too would have opted for the 7/11 one.
I make my egg sandwiches, but being English, I use slightly different products.
My recipe : Boil 6 eggs, then peel and, using a cheese grater, grate them into a bowl. Add salt and black pepper. Then add a heaped tablespoon of Hellman's mayo and a heaped tablespoon of Heinz Salad Cream. Mix very well. Either use 2 slices of sandwich bread, butter and then fill, or get better quality thick crusty bread, toast it, butter and then the egg mix spread on (without making it a sandwich.) 2 other possible add ons are thinly sliced, juicy red tomatoes and/or to the sandwich, put in a few crisps of whatever flavour you like and squeeze the sandwich to flatten it otherwise it may be too big to fit in your mouth. All versions will be delicious with hundreds of calories and huge saturated fat content - but who cares. You only live once. Enjoy !!!!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Neville, thanks for sharing your recipe! And you're right, we only live once!
Frank Brown says
damn that's a good review - now I want to try all three ! Not normally a big egg eater, but your review made me go there. I'll plan for next trip - maybe next month !
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Frank!
michael kelly says
We first ran into this sandwich at a Narita airport fast food outlet, I don't remember the name. It was memorable. I had never tasted egg salad that delicious. Once home, Vancouver luckily, I searched out milk bread from one of the numerous Oriental grocery stores and have not looked back. One modification was to sightly adjust regular Mayo (Hellmanns) to more of a Japanese mayo flavour profile.
Marc Matsumoto says
I guess getting an egg salad sandwich in Japan isn't at the top of everyone's bucket list😆 Glad you had a chance to try one while you were here!
Hose says
It this the nutrition for the half sandwich or both pieces
Marc says
The nutrition information is per pack, and each pack contains 2 halves of 1 sandwich.
PETER WEBER says
7eleven egg sandwich ist my all time favorit.
PekoPeko says
Nice experiment! It's interesting the 7-eleven version did win since they claim their sandwich is "kodawari" (an interesting word I learned on my last trip to Japan, which is very had to translate to English!)
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi PekoPeko, yea, I think 7-Eleven uses some special brand of egg in their sandwich, but I don't think that's what makes their sandwich special, it's that there is just so much more egg in there compared to the other two. I think the best translation for "kodawari" is discerning, or uncompromising.
Werd says
Kodawari is an egg brand in Japan, supplied by SAILOR Co., Ltd.
At least, it seems so when searching for 'kodawari tamago'.
Marc Matsumoto says
That makes sense. "Kodawari" also means "discerning" so I wasn't sure if they were referring to a brand or to the fact that they are discerning about their eggs.
Lawrence Leichtman says
Generally means obsession or obsessive.