A popular pasta dish taking South Korea by storm has been named after a humble Australian city.
‘Toowoomba Pasta’ was created by Australian-themed American diner chain Outback Steakhouse and has surprisingly become popular in Korea.
The slightly spicy meal – which is also often called ‘Toowoomba Chicken’ – is a creamy pasta dish made with fried chicken and mushrooms.
One Aussie traveller was left scratching his head after noticing the odd name on a menu at a chicken shop.
Curious as to why it’s named after an Australian city, the traveller posted on Reddit in search of answers.
‘I was recently in Korea and I saw this in a fried chicken shop. Can any Koreans explain?’ the Redditor wrote and shared an image of the menu.
The dish is often found on menus across restaurants and convenient stores for takeaway in Korea.
Obsessed’ fans can’t get enough of the rich umami packed sauce that comes with prawns, mushroom, parmesan, cream, soy sauce and a hit of garlic and Korean chilli for 25,900 KRW – or about $29 AUD.
The slightly spicy meal named ‘Toowoomba Chicken’ is a creamy pasta dish made with fried chicken
The meal references ‘Toowoomba Pasta’ – however it isn’t authentic to Toowoomba (pictured) in Queensland
One Aussie traveller was left scratching his head after noticing the odd name on a menu at a chicken shop. Curious as to why it’s named after an Australian city, the traveller posted on Reddit in search of answers
Australia Korea Foundation board member Peter Lee told ABC the franchise is ‘wildly popular’.
‘In Korea, Outback Steakhouse is associated with Australia – it’s marketed as an Australian thing, even though it’s based out of Florida,’ he said.
The pasta is proving so popular that pre-packaged versions are even popping up at convenience stores across South Korea.
The ‘random’ dish, which was Aussie-inspired, has now made its way back to Australia with local foodies across TikTok whipping up their own versions to see what all the fuss is about.
Queensland dietitian and food creative Andrea Love was intrigued after first hearing about Toowoomba Pasta and was keen to try it for herself home.
‘This is definitely a fun dish with an interesting backstory – which is what drew me to recreating it in the first place,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘So good! Highly recommend, Gochugaru and soy sauce in a creamy pasta works surprisingly well,’ she said.
But some Aussie fans couldn’t get their heads around the craze.
The menu item was created by Australian-themed American diner chain Outback Steakhouse and has surprisingly become popular in Korea
The popular pasta has exploded across South Korea with many restaurants and cafes offering their own copycat versions of the Aussie inspired dish
‘I live in Toowoomba and was freaked out when I saw Toowoomba Pasta on the menu in a K drama, you learn something new everyday,’ one woman said.
‘A Korean twist on an American idea of how Australians eat Italian food,’ another added.
Others were scratching their heads over why the seafood pasta dish took its name from an inland city faraway from the coast.
‘An American chain that has a seafood dish named after an Australian town that is nearly 200 kilometres away from the nearest coastline, sold in Korea,’ one baffled Aussie said.
While others just took exception to Outback Steakhouse – an American chain – capitalising on Aussie culture.
‘Outback Steakhouse is the most un-Australian thing to ever exist,’ one man said.
One Australian who had tried the popular meal in Seoul, spoke to the Korean manager about the unusually named dish.
The manager told him that most Koreans had no idea where Toowoomba was located and thought it was just a random name for the delicious main meal.
Few people who have actually sampled the pasta aren’t complaining.
‘So good, I’m obsessed,’ one fan said.
‘It’s amazing,’ another agreed.
Italians are yet to share their reaction.