Gloriously textural, bright with flavours and layered with a fragrant blend of fried coconut, garlic and smoky meat, it’s spicing up Sydney’s sanga scene.
I have been thinking about the babi galing (suckling pork) focaccia sandwich at Ada’s Affair in Glebe since last September. In a city of endless sandwiches, this one stood out as gloriously textural, bright with flavour and heat, and easy to eat (no jaw dislocation required).
While it was, and remains, unreservedly delicious, it was also owner Sonny Soputra who made the sandwich memorable, and one worthy of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the Sydney sandwiches you need to know about. He was sunshine on a quiet, weekday afternoon – warm with enthusiasm to debut a sandwich pairing Indonesian flavours with Sydney’s insatiable appetite for things between bread. He was onto something, and he knew it.
So, what’s the deal?
It starts, as all great sandwiches do, with quality bread. Ada’s Affair uses focaccia from acclaimed Pyrmont bakery Pioik, which featured in Good Food’s Essential Sydney Cafes and Bakeries Guide. “I believe it’s one of the best focaccias in town,” says Soputra.
Inside, salty-sweet roast pork (torched to replicate that smoky, just-off-the-spit flavour) is layered against a fragrant blend of fried coconut, garlic and spices known as lawar, sliced cucumber, and the vivid heat of raw chilli and lime sambal (sambal matah). Then it’s all toasted in the sandwich press until the golden bread has the crackle of sucking pig.
“Hot honey [drizzled on top] is the last touch because that’s how I remember babi guling – with a sweet, smoky taste,” says Soputra. It’s made in-house using chipotle peppers.
Spicing up the sandwich scene
The babi guling sandwich was just the start. Its popularity over the past year inspired Soputra and former head chef Rimbal Awal Muharram (who has since returned to Jakarta to open his own cafe) to embrace their Indonesian heritage through a short menu of five sandwiches.
There’s the ayam geprek focaccia with Javanese fried chicken, smashed into tender mouthfuls and slathered with spicy sambal ($22); the se’i breakfast bun with orange-spiked smoked beef, egg salad and molten gruyere cheese ($15); and the soto ayam focaccia, with Lamongan-style koya turmeric chicken ($22).
The latter is inspired by a meal Soputra remembers from his hometown of Surabaya. “It’s usually a soupy dish, so people were asking how we turned it into a sandwich,” he says. “The secret is that in my hometown people like to mix the soup with koya (small, plain, sweet cookies) so it becomes crunchy and sticky, and that’s what we put in the sandwich.”
“We wanted to create something different … and I’m very proud and happy that we can represent [food from] my background,” Soputra says.
“I want to do it really good, you know, and I’m surprised by how people in the Glebe area have accepted it.”
And while you’re there …
You could order coffee, or you could get a cup of es Kopiko ($7.50). It’s a frothy, nostalgic take on an oat milk latte, using a chocolate malt base and specialty beans from St Peters roastery Sample Coffee to mimic the flavours of the Indonesian coffee-flavoured candy.
It’s one of five Indonesian-inspired beverages on the menu, which include a coffee mocktail riffing on the traditional herbal drink d’jamoe, and a soft drink inspired by the bubblegum-pink soda gembira (happy soda), sweetened with condensed milk and raspberry compote ($8).
Wait, isn’t there another Ada’s Affair in Darlinghurst?
Ada’s Affair is a collection of two cafes, one in Darlinghurst and another in Glebe, both part-owned by Soputra.
The babi guling focaccia sandwich and Indonesian-inspired menu are served exclusively in Glebe. It’s a small, sunlit spot overlooking Glebe Point Road, with a simple plywood fitout, a few indoor plants, and a shelf crowded with jars of colourful pickled vegetables. It has a relaxed vibe, and you’ll often find solo diners working quietly on laptops or enjoying a coffee in the sun with their dog.
The Darlinghurst outpost, co-owned by Tri Dharmawan, looks similar but features a UK-leaning menu developed by head chef Andrew Tomkinson. It’s the go-to if you prefer the likes of boiled eggs, house-made pickles, and seasonal soups served with thick slices of sourdough.
Where can you get it
If you want to try the $22 babi galing (suckling pork) focaccia sandwich, make tracks for Ada’s Affair Glebe, 144B Glebe Point Road, Glebe, instagram.com/adasaffair. It’s open for breakfast and lunch daily.
This is the latest instalment of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the Sydney sandwiches you need to know about.
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Bianca Hrovat – Bianca is Good Food’s Sydney eating out and restaurant editor.