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    Home » Articles » Food

    Updated: Jan 14, 2022 by Marc Matsumoto · 8 Comments

    Japanese Konbini Egg Sandwich Showdown

    FamilyMart vs 7-Eleven vs Lawson egg sandwich taste test.
    What is a Konbini (Conbini)?

    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.

    What is Tamagosando?

    Tamagosando (卵サンド), literally means "egg sandwich" in Japanese.

    What is a Japanese style Egg Sandwich?

    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 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.

    Which convenience store makes the best egg sandwich?

    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.

    The Contenders

    Comparison of Japanese convenience store egg sandwiches.

    FamilyMart Egg Sandwich

    Japanese 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

    Japanese 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

    Japanese 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. 

    Konbini Egg Sandwich Breakdown

    Like I said before, best is purely subjective, but here's what I liked and didn't like about each sandwich, broken down:

    Packaging 

    FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, and Lawson Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich Comparisson.

    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 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. 

    That being said, this test left me confident that I can make a tastier sandwich at home, so here's my recipe the BEST Japanese Egg Sandwich combining some of the best aspects of these three next week!

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    1. PekoPeko says

      July 16, 2019 at 2:07 pm

      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!)

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        July 16, 2019 at 2:28 pm

        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.

        Reply
        • Werd says

          August 07, 2019 at 5:14 am

          Kodawari is an egg brand in Japan, supplied by SAILOR Co., Ltd.
          At least, it seems so when searching for 'kodawari tamago'.

          Reply
          • Marc Matsumoto says

            August 08, 2019 at 7:10 am

            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.

            Reply
      • Lawrence Leichtman says

        July 06, 2022 at 7:55 am

        Generally means obsession or obsessive.

        Reply
    2. PETER WEBER says

      October 09, 2020 at 12:18 am

      7eleven egg sandwich ist my all time favorit.

      Reply
    3. Hose says

      July 21, 2023 at 8:23 am

      It this the nutrition for the half sandwich or both pieces

      Reply
      • Marc says

        July 21, 2023 at 8:44 am

        The nutrition information is per pack, and each pack contains 2 halves of 1 sandwich.

        Reply

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