Some Australian restaurant menus refer to the dish as a "snack pack", "snack box" or "mixed plate".[2] The name of the dish was chosen by the Macquarie Dictionary as the "People's Choice Word of the Year" for 2016.[7] In Western Australia, the dish is often called a "meat box", and in Adelaide it is known as an "AB".[a][8][9]
History
The halal snack pack originated in Australia as a culinary fusion of Middle-Eastern and European cuisines. According to some, snack packs date back at least to the 1980s.[10] They have since become a quintessential Australian dish.[11][12] However, variations or similar dishes exist in other countries; examples include "doner meat and chips" in the United Kingdom, "döner teller" ("doner plate") in Germany, kapsalon" ("barbershop") in the Netherlands and Belgium, "kebabtallrik" ("kebab plate") in Sweden,[13][14][15] "gyro fries" in the United States, and "kebab ranskalaisilla" ("kebab with French fries") in Finland. In Adelaide, the dish is known as an "AB".[16] Meanwhile in Perth, Western Australia the term "meat box" is commonly used.[17]
In late 2015, following the creation of the Facebook group Halal Snack Pack Appreciation Society, a subculture formed around the dish that was known to bring cultures together.[18][19][20] This led to wide coverage of the dish in the media, as well as a notable reference by Senator Sam Dastyari in Australian Parliament during a debate about halal certification which is credited for much of the increase in attention paid to this dish.[21][22]
Health concerns have been raised about the refined carbohydrate content of halal snack packs. Excess refined carbohydrates can cause obesity and heart disease, as well as cerebrovascular, metabolic and renal conditions and complications.[23][19][20][24]
In popular culture
A halal snack pack served on a ceramic plate
In July 2016, then-Labor Senator Sam Dastyari invited the One Nation party leader Pauline Hanson out for a halal snack pack after she won a Senate seat in the 2016 Australian federal election. She rejected his proposal, saying, “It’s not happening, not interested in halal, thank you”. Hanson then elaborated, stating, “I’m not interested in it. I don’t believe in halal certification,” and went on to claim that “98 percent of Australians” opposed it.[25] In response, several Australian restaurants created a Pauline Hanson-inspired halal snack pack.[26][27] There has also been a GoFundMe campaign to turn Hanson's former fish and chip shop into a pop-up halal snack pack stand.[28]
Similar dishes
The "AB" dish in Adelaide is gyros meat topped with chips, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, barbecue sauce, and garlic sauce.[29][30][16] The dish is sometimes served with alcoholic beverages.[29] Two restaurants in Adelaide claim they invented the dish: the North Adelaide Burger Bar (also known as the Red & White) between 1969 and 1972, and the Blue & White in 1989.[29][31][32] The "AB" may be placed at the centre of the table and shared.[31][33] The Healthy Snack Pack is a variant of the Halal Snack Pack where the chips are replaced by a choice of salad.
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