When I dream of Japan, it’s not the sweltering Tokyo summers and frozen Hakuba winters I dream of. Nor is it the Japanese people, their generosity and marvellous ancient culture.

It’s the $4 pork katsu sando I always get after landing at Narita Airport in Tokyo. I dream about a crustless treat from the Lawson convenience store (or is it a Family Mart?) near the exit, sitting on the shelf among the onigiri, strawberry and cream buns, and trays of spaghetti napolitan. It’s always the first sando of many – but none hit quite like that one.

If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say siblings Lexy and Lachlan Allouche of new Darlinghurst cafe Punpun dream about Japan and its sandos, too.

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“Every time someone asks when and where I wanna go overseas, it’s always ‘Japan! Japan!’” says Lexy. “The rest of the world doesn’t exist to me.”

The self-styled “inner city sandwich committee” has taken on the old Fu Manchu space opposite the hospital and swapped dim sum for sandos on steroids.

But while Japan’s konbini sandos are stone cold and come in a plastic wrapper, Punpun’s sesame fried chicken katsu number emits a plume of steam as you pull apart the hot, chonky halves.

Likewise, Punpun’s $16 egg sando is hot, hot, hot for that price. Where konbini-style sando eggs are scrambly and spun with kewpie, here they’re steamed – not unlike Japan’s custard egg chawanmushi. The effect is a silky little egg mattress, blanketed in cheese and slicked with chive mayo. I want to lie down on it.

Punpun’s tight menu of four sandos is powered by Pasco shokupan from Japan. “The flavour [of the bread] is amazing, it’s so consistent. Like, there’s nothing that’s ever wrong with it. It’s always soft and it’s always beautiful,” says Lexy, who admits the business would be “fucked” if anything happened to the Pasco suppliers.

The siblings take their coffee game seriously, hence why they’ve enlisted Sydney micro roaster Diggy Doo’s to supply their beans. They’re also serving Tea Craft teas, tinned beers and – another konbini fave – Pocari Sweat.

The sliver of a space feels almost like a sushi counter. A long timber bar runs its length; the opposing wall is punctuated by hanging Japanese baseball jerseys. The siblings have plans to open the space at night, too.

When Lexy dreams of Japan, she also dreams of manga – so much that she named her cafe after one.

“I’m a huge manga nerd, and [Oyasumi] Punpun is the one series that really got me into it,” she tells Broadsheet. “It’s hard to explain. But it’s like, twisted in all the right ways.”

Punpun
249 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst

Hours:
Wed to Sun 8am–4pm

@punpuncity