Mentaiko

It’s been such a miserable week in Sydney—raining non-stop, and to top it off, I’ve been dealing with some gnarly back pain 😂 Feeling a bit over being stuck indoors, I decided to make my way over to Neutral Bay to check out Deli by Jicca, a Japanese-Italian deli café I’ve had my eye on.

Craving something a bit different, I went with the mentaiko sandwich. In hindsight... questionable move. I’m not even the biggest mentaiko fan, so I don’t know what I was thinking. If you haven’t had it before, mentaiko is marinated cod roe—it’s got that fishy umami punch. Usually I love it in pasta, but in a sandwich? Not totally sold. The combo with ricotta made it extra creamy (in a good way), but I was really missing that chewy protein bite I normally look for in a sandwich. You know what I mean?

The bread, though—no complaints there. Soft, fluffy schiacciata, pressed and toasty with just the right amount of crunch. Also a big fan of the fact that they sell sandwiches by the half. Wish I’d gone half-half with another option… oh well, bit too late for that now.

Still, I scored a rainy day $2 coffee, so not a total loss. Small win!