Age 3 has landed in Australia! This popular Japanese chain sells fried sandwiches with a variety of sweet and savoury fillings. These crispy half sandwiches are a popular and inexpensive snack. Find out what the sandwiches are like and which ones are a standout.
Sometimes you just need to wait. That is, wait for the queues to die down at a place before visiting. I had seen videos of the queues at Age 3 and was actively avoiding them. But it has been a month now since Age 3 opened at the end of March 2025 and we figured now was a good time to visit. It also helps that on the morning that we arrive there, it has been raining heavily and when Sophia and I arrive at 11:25am we are the first in the queue.
Age (pronounced ah-geh) is Japanese for fried and these deep fried half sandwiches have a crispy white bread filled with soft, creamy sweet and savoury fillings. They range from $3 for the plain whipped cream to $9.50, $11.50 and $12.50 for a deep fried half sandwich.
The Age 3 chain started in Ginza, Tokyo in 2023 then branched out to Fukuoka, Hong Kong and Shanghai going viral for their whipped cream sandwich. Sydney's Ultimo store is their first store outside of Asia and offers 32 different flavours to choose from including caramel biscuit (Biscoff), chocolate strawberry, matcha ganache and pistachio. Of those 32 there are 11 savoury ones including flavours such as potato salad, tuna mayonnaise and grilled cheese curry. Sophia and I decide on a few to share and we order and take a buzzer to the table as there's a spacious outdoor section with quite a few tables.
We start with the savoury sandwiches. The first is the Chicken Nanban that sits atop a filling of egg mayo salad. The boneless chicken is juicy and freshly fried and each bite echoes the crispness of the deep fried bread while collapsing into the soft egg salad with each satisfied bite. Although it's hard to eat, it's absolutely delicious and this is both our favourite.
While the grilled cheese and smoked salmon doesn't really look like the photo and the grilled cheese looks a bit odd (it's a few shreds of blowtorched cheese), the smoked salmon with avocado cubes and the mashed potato filling is tasty in the deep fried bread. It's not quite at the same level as the chicken nanban but it's good.
I had seen someone order the egg and fried noodle on social media but honestly it isn't my favourite and isn't a patch on the chicken nanban. The noodles are fine and the egg is a bit rubbery and just didn't have as much flavour as the others.
For the sweet sandwiches you definitely need to like cream because they're all filled with whipped cream of some sort. The #1 whipped cream is on special for $3 instead of $6 and there is a limit of one per person. The cream itself is not overly sweet but it's thick and fluffy. It is nice although it's a lot of just whipped cream that really would benefit from other textures and flavours.
The Mont Blanc is like a take on the whipped cream but with the addition of chestnut cream squiggles and a whole chestnut on top. I much prefer this as I love Mont Blanc cakes and the subtle but unmistakeable flavour of sweet chestnuts.
However my favourite sweet sando is undoubtedly the crème brulee. It is filled with a custard whipped cream it has a freshly torched toffee layer on top that I crack with much satisfaction. Every bite is a combination of crunchy toffee and creamy custard and the crunch of the deep fried bread. It's a 10/10 and I would order this again in a heartbeat. And even Mr NQN who eschews deep fried food devours the leftovers that I bring home!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried these sandwiches? Which one would be your pick?
This meal was independently paid for.
Age 3
Shop 92/732 Harris St, Ultimo NSW 2007
Phone: (02) 7813 6603
Hours: Open 7 days 11:30 am–7 pm
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