16.042 Toowoomba Pasta

Cycle 16 – Item 42

16 (Sun) February 2025

Post 5,521

Toowoomba Pasta

2.0

at Outback Steakhouse

-Seocho, Seocho, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W

With IZ participating in a birthday party at the restaurant, W and I got a separate table – far on the other side, as per IZ demand – and ate lunch while waiting for the party to end.

Apparently, they’ve dropped the kitschy Outback-themed decor in favor of a more modern/generic look.

Outback Steakhouse has been featured twice on GMTD: Cycle 2, in the same neighborhood of Seocho but in a different building back then (see 2.266 Gorgonzola Blueberry Ribeye Steak); Cycle 6, in Guam during a WHO mission (see 6.284 New York Strip Steak), both to disappointing results.

I am certain that no indigenous Australian, perhaps no Australian of any background, would approve of naming a room as such.

Since then, I’ve come to learn that Outback Steakhouse was founded in America.  Over 1,300 locations across the world, including 8 in Australia (as of this writing).  Their signature Bloomin’ Onion is not an Australian thing, invented out of nowhere by the chain, can only be found in Australia at Outback Steakhouse.  Although I must’ve suspected this, as the prior visits to the restaurant were both tagged as ORIGIN AMERICAN.

Time was, all types of pasta on Korean menus were labelled as “spaghetti;” lately, all pastas are labelled as “pasta,” even when it’s spaghetti – by now, both restaurants and customers should be ready to call pastas by their proper names.

Toowoomba Pasta is an American dish.  Pasta with shrimp and mushrooms in cream sauce.  Invented sui generis by Outback Steakhouse (like the Bloomin’ Onion).  Reportedly, the dish was introduced as a promotional item but proved to be such a big hit in Korea that it was kept as a regular item only in this country, where it’s touted as the restaurant’s signature pasta.  Named after the city Toowoomba in Australia, though apparently no actual connection to the city – the name has since been appropriated by other brands making similar knock-off items (e.g., Sin Toowoomba Ramyeon).

Appears to be fettucine, as originally designed.

Meh.  Like any other cream pasta, but a poorly executed one that quickly turned dry and clumpy after a few minutes.  The sauce seemed to have bits of what might’ve been jalapeño, though it didn’t seem to impact the flavor profile.  Don’t understand, at all, what the big fuss is about.

Pepper Steak (3.0): not bad at all.

The pepper steak, on the other hand, was surprisingly competent.  Perhaps enough to lure me back and try the ridiculously overpriced t-bone set.

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