Shokupan sandos, shake fries and snacky sides: On Lonsdale is the place for a non-standard brunch

It’s been about a month since On Lonsdale opened on (wait for it) Lonsdale Street so Region dropped in to check out its full menu of Korean-style sandos and snacks. Co-owner Lachlan Exton told us they’d been welcomed by Braddon locals and were happy with how busy they’d been in their opening month.

There’s several sections to the On Lonsdale menu: sandos, poke bowls, rice bowls, breakfast and sides. While sipping our ONA coffees, we decided we were really there for the house specialty: sandos. Not just a regular sandwich, sandos are a Korean and Japanese trend of fillings inside soft shokupan milk bread. At On Lonsdale these fillings range from Nashville Hot Fried Chicken, Seoul Bulgogi, and even a Sando-O-Fish! I went for the Namban Chicken Sando and my colleague Alicia opted for a Margherita Sando.

The Namban Sando was filled with a generous portion of soft-fried sweet soy chicken thigh with a chunky tartare and yuzu aioli sauce. Let me start by saying: Juicy. As. Heck. And absolutely chock full of flavour too: I could really tell they’d put a lot of thought into how the marinade for the chicken would complement the tartare sauce (closer to a gribiche but who cares what you call it when it tastes that good?)

The Margherita Sando featured a slab of crumbed, deep-fried mozzarella with basil pesto and cherry tomato confit: I snuck a bite of Alicia’s and boy-oh-boy “that’s-a” one cheesy sando!

We also had to try the Shake On Lonsdale Chips, served in a paper bag with your choice of flavouring. Simply shake the bag to distribute the salty goodness and enjoy! We opted for the kimchi flavour, which executive chef Cho makes by dehydrating kimchi and blitzing it up with salt. A total umami bomb, these chips were moreish and tasty.

To add a veneer of healthfulness we also tried some freshly mixed juices. The Orange+ featured a refreshing blend of orange, strawberry and passionfruit, while Alicia’s glass of Beetroot+ contained an earthy mix of beetroot, carrot, lime, green apple and ginger.

@this.is.canberra

This is On Lonsdale, Canberra’s newest Japanese and Korean sando spot. Think past the traditional Aussie sandwiches and feast on supersized, fully loaded sandos and bites served with delicious Ona coffee! From the menu, we tried: 👉🏼 Namban chicken sando 👉🏼 Margherita sando 👉🏼 Pork gyoza 👉🏼 Shake On Lonsdale chips w/ kimchi seasoning 👉🏼 Octopus Karaage The perfect spot in Braddon for a coffee and sando. #ThisIsCanberra #OnLonsdale #CanberraFoodie #CanberraLocals #VisitCanberra

♬ original sound – lucia🫶🏼

Chef was kind enough to send out a few extra snacks for us to taste (although we were pretty full by this stage!) The crisp pork gyoza with vinegar dressing and fried octopus karaage with spicy Korean gochujang paste were both incredibly flavourful and kept us snacking.

The space mixes industrial chic with a Melbourne-esque charm; tiled walls bring pops of colour against the black features and with the open kitchen on one side and barista bar on the other, there’s plenty to look at! Lachlan and Chef Cho visited Korea to get inspiration for this location, and word on the street is that they’re planning another trip soon to check out the Korean nightlife scene…

While we didn’t try any of the other menu sections this time around, I’d be keen to go back for a brown rice poke bowl or to try Chef Cho’s version of Japanese scrambled egg dish omurice. For those missing the days of classic smashed avo on toast, the team has put an Avocado on Shokupan dish on the breakfast menu with crown daisy chimichurri, confit cherry tomato and charred snake beans.

It may not be serving up egg and bacon rolls but On Lonsdale is still a great location for brunch.

On Lonsdale is located at 23 Lonsdale St, Canberra. It’s open from 6:30 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday and from 7 am to 3:30 pm weekends.

Follow On Lonsdale on Instagram.

Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Riotact.