One of the fun (and perhaps, daunting, for some) parts about ordering a Subway is the customisation process and witnessing your beautiful sandwich come to life. We have the Subway sandwich artist to thank for that.

But we’re pretty sure that we are not the only ones who have had the urge to try our hands at making an actual Subway sandwich.

Sure, we could all just prepare a regular one at home with the components bought from the grocery store. But it’s just never going to be the same as whipping up a mean Sub at the store itself.

Lucky for us, we got invited to an exclusive Subway Sandwich Artist Experience where we had the chance to learn what it takes to make the perfect Sub and get hands-on experience of making an actual Sub.

We feel that it’s not too much to say that it was like a dream come true!

Getting to know the process

We were under the tutelage of the wonderful crew at Subway Bandar Mahkota Cheras.

Our first lesson was on hygiene. We learnt that every single time before putting on the plastic gloves, one must scrub up properly. There is no compromise on this.

The handwashing bit takes place with hot water — as hot as one could stand — and soap. As one would have to rub and scrub the hands for 20 seconds, the popular songs of choice to measure the said duration amongst the crew here include "Happy Birthday" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

Sorry, we do not have a picture of us washing our hands. This would do instead.

Then, without touching any other surface (the forearm works well in turning the tap off), it’s straight to drying the hands with the tissue and finally, putting the gloves on.

We were then made to observe a demonstration of how building a Sub is like — from determining the type of sandwich to the entire wrapping process. It was complemented with great tips and tricks too.

While we must admit that the Subway sandwich artist proved her mastery by executing a smooth assembly, the thought of ‘how hard could it possibly be?’ did cross our mind.

Well, in just a matter of a few more minutes, we were about to find out.

First day on the job

As promised, we were put to the test to make our very own Sub. Of course, we had to dress the part and for that, we were provided with the signature Subway cap and apron.

Heck, we even got our very own name tag which we got to keep after all is said and done!

Check it out, people

It was the handwashing step first. We think we had a pretty decent tolerance for the hot water, but with many sets of eyes on us, we were a bit shaky and almost missed out on a spot on our forearm where the soap had landed. Good thing our eagle-eyed mentor was quick to point it out!

After the scrub-a-dub-dub, it was time for us to showcase our ability (or lack thereof) in creating our very own masterpiece. We took the order of our dear friend who wanted to give Subway’s newest flavour a try, the Tri-Pepper Chicken.

Subway’s Tri-Pepper Chicken.

Our dear friend decided to have her 6-inch Tri-Pepper Chicken Sub with the garlic bread. When asked about how one could be sure about the size, the crew pointed out the cleverly incorporated ruler they have at the cutting station.

But of course, the regular artists wouldn’t need it.

How brilliant is this?

It then came time for us to cut that bread open. Our strategy was simple: replicate every movement of our Subway mentor. But we have to admit that this part was a bit tricky (okay, a lot tricky) because we didn’t quite have the technique down.

We’re not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill but one needs to angle the knife at 45 degrees, make sure to hold it not too far on the handle and not too near and the depth at which the knife cuts through the bread shouldn’t be too far in or out.

Let us tell you this: it was not easy. Our knife got stuck on a couple of occasions.

We definitely need more practice.

We also had to be mindful of our finger pressure when holding the bread. No one wants to eat a sandwich with someone else’s finger impression on it, right?

We almost got the hang of it after half of the bread was amateurishly sliced. But we’re happy to report that we appeared to have known what we were doing.

Just don’t look at the inside of the bread because we, basically, butchered it.

The truth.

Once that’s out of the way, it would be time for the protein! For the Tri-Pepper Chicken, it would be the — you guessed it! — chicken seasoned with a flavourful combination of three different types of pepper.

The protein has to be placed on the part of the sandwich that makes the top half. Then, lay a couple of cheese slices on top of the chicken patty and into the oven for about 25 seconds. Subway’s ovens have a reputation for being extremely hot, so for safety precautions, the Subway crew handled the oven part.

Next, it was time for the veggies! The recommended vegetables for the Tri-Pepper Chicken are mixed greens, capsicum and tomatoes. You always have the option to customise it your way, of course.

And that’s exactly what our dear friend did. She opted for lettuce, capsicum and red onions instead. It was a fine choice indeed.

Veggies.

The recommended choice of sauces for the Tri-Pepper Chicken is mayonnaise. Our dear friend went a different direction and chose to have mustard and only mustard on her sandwich. And so, we had the ‘Z’ formation of mustard on the sandwich.

It was a work of art — if we say ourselves.

Not too shabby for a first-time Sub artist, eh?

We then folded the sandwich — no problem there! But we could totally understand how this part could be a problem when you get orders that insist on every vegetable and sauce available.

And there it was, our glorious piece of fine sandwich.

Woot!

Just as we were about to celebrate, we were reminded that it wasn’t over yet. We had to fold the sandwich and wrap it!

Not, the folding bit wasn’t too hard, but we did receive some help with the first layer of wrapping. The outer wrapping was all up to us. Our one-week obsession over origami back in primary school certainly came in handy.

Our friend-slash-customer-of-the-day also chose to pair her Tri-Pepper Chicken sandwich with the all-new Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie too! A great accompaniment.

Subway’s Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie is here!

The taste test

Our dear friend gave us a thumbs up for the Sub we built her. But we think a lot of the credit goes to the strong components of the Tri-Pepper Chicken itself.

True to its name, the Tri-Pepper Chicken features the blend of three types of peppercorns — the pink, green and black peppercorns — into Subway’s signature chicken patty.

The flavour is enhanced with basil, cilantro and salt. In case you didn’t know, peppercorns possess the endorphin-boosting quality. Talk about being happy because of a meal!

Triple the happiness!

We had a taste of the Tri-Pepper Chicken with the honey oat bread and recommended pairings of vegetables as well as sweet onion and chipotle sauce, made by the professional.

Our verdict? Delicious and filling — and it's absolutely worth it!

Every time we took a bite of the Sub, we got a taste of the meaty chunk of chicken with colourful layers of peppery goodness. The classic lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers added a blast of freshness to it too. The swirl of sweet onion and chipotle sauce also further brought out the flavour in harmony. In case you’re wondering, no, it’s not spicy.

All packed up and ready to go.

The Subway Tri-Pepper Chicken is a must-try, especially if you love the taste of pepper. It certainly lives up to its name with the variety of pepper flavours it boasts. We even had bits of corn pepper stuck on our teeth by the time we finished devouring the sandwich.

The Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie is also perfect for mint chocolate fans. It does not shy away from the mint taste. At the same time, it achieves that great balance with the chocolate base.

Sorry, we didn't manage to take a picture of the Sub because we ate it too fast :( Here's a close up shot from the time we were making it.

The phrase made famous by Justin Bieber aptly describes the taste of Subway’s Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie. It’s yummy-yum!

The statement by Samad Mohd Shariff, Country Director, Subway, South East Asia pretty much summed it all up: “At Subway, we are always innovating to ensure we create craveable and better-for-you options that are hearty and delicious for our guests.

"The new Tri-Pepper Chicken sub is a great example of this, being a bold new flavour with a complex yet familiar pepper kick — together with the fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie, it really is the perfect flavour combination to end the year on a high note.”

It’s a wrap!

Ta-daa!

After all is said and done, we’re glad that we managed to complete an order. But we know for a fact that we can’t handle the real world (yet). We were told that each sandwich should take 1 minute and 20 seconds to complete.

We went multiple times over the length of that duration. But hey, in our defence, a Subway sandwich artist typically gets two weeks of training. We had about a 10-minute observation and listening module, so it’s only fair to cut us some slack.

Regardless, the experience definitely opened our eyes to the interesting world of a Subway sandwich artist and the challenges that they face. We will definitely be more appreciative of the effort of our local Subway sandwich artist and we will be ordering more Tri-Pepper Chicken as well as Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie!

The Tri-Pepper Chicken Sub starts from RM12.60* for a 6-inch and RM20.95* for a footlong. The Mint Chocolate Chip cookie starts from RM2.20*.

These delicious treats will be available at participating Subway Malaysia restaurants and across delivery platforms such as GrabFood and FoodPanda.

*Prices quoted are excluding SST.