You Say Sandwich, We Say Yeah!

I popped my Scandinavian sandwich cherry in Oslo with a fantastic smoked salmon on seeded bread. I bit into the dense, chewy bread heavily crusted with sesame, flax, and sunflower seeds, as my sandwich companion noted that whole flax acts as an exfoliator for the lower intestine. This is a definite bonus, as folks in these parts seem to like flax seeds on practically everything. Under the lid, there are many regular ingredients in the classic Norwegian sandwich combo, including thick slices of salmon, a spreadable cream cheese flecked with herbs and pepper (possibly even carrot), plus only slightly wilted greens, and thinly sliced cucumber. 

While a roll is a sandwich in the UK, I've never had a sandwich in China, though I've had many tasty meaty morsels tucked between freshly made dough-based pockets. The issue once again of what makes a sandwich reared its ugly head as I ate this western-style (or alternately, "Beijing-influenced") Xin-Jiang cumin beef roll. The sesame covered pan-breads are the best thing about this dish, and they themselves are often ordered to eat, as they are flaky on the inside and crispy on the outside, and go with anything that you put into it. Sounds like a sandwich, but is it? One of the best dining experiences I repeat whenever I visit Hong Kong is at a Beijing restaurant with hands-down the BEST lamb dish ever. They come as separate dishes, but they go together always as you stuff the lamb into these little sesame rolls that comes with a sharp spicy sauce to ladle over the whole mess. I want to buy a plane ticket right now just to have one. Are they sandwiches? No, because th...