Bite Size: A sandwich for K-pop devotees

While in Kaneohe, you might want to check out the Korean bakery Ono2Guys for its unique “croissant Korean-style sandwich,” also known as the idol or K-pop sandwich ($4.76) because of its link to K-pop stars.

One of the two guys behind the bakery, Ewa Kim, spent more than a decade as a director at SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System), which hosts the weekly music show “SBS Inkigayo.”

Only celebs and staffers of SBS had access to a fourth-floor cafeteria where one of the most popular items was an egg sandwich with coleslaw and the one ingredient that sets it apart from your typical savory sandwich, strawberry jam.

By Western standards, it’s an unusual combination, but Kim said he grew up eating similar samsaek, or three-color, sandwiches made by his mom. Because he said some people consider eggs to be stinky, he swapped them out for ham and Swiss and American cheeses, to which he adds the crunch of cucumbers. He also substituted the usual white bread for a croissant, and the combination is divine! I’m not sure why it works, but it does, and Kim said it must be the strawberry jam. He’s tried many other flavors, but said none works as well.

Another reason for the sandwich’s fame? Just as the Chinese used mooncakes to relay messages of rebellion against 14th-century Mongol rule, the idols use this particular food item to communicate, although the greetings are more sociable.

According to the K-pop website Soompi, former Big Bang member Seungri said idols, whose contracts often forbid dating, would slip notes and phone numbers under the plastic wrap and gift the sandwich to someone without their managers’ knowledge of the extra ingredient.

Ono2Guys, at 45-773 Kame­­hameha Highway, is also home to a range of savory and sweet buns, such as those with curry potato filling or chocolate custard cream, cupcakes and Crazy Loaf breads filled with Korean sweet potato, sugared chestnuts or red beans. Call 762-3111.