A halal snack pack is an Australian fast food dish, which consists of halal-certifieddoner kebab meat (lamb, chicken, or beef) and chips.[1] It also includes different kinds of sauces, usually chilli, garlic, and barbecue.[2] Yoghurt or yoghurt sauce,[3][4] cheese, jalapeño peppers, and tabbouleh are also common additions. While the snack pack was traditionally served in a styrofoam container, it is now most commonly served in moulded pulp or cardboard containers, as most Australian states have banned single-use plastic packaging.[5] The snack pack has been described as a staple takeaway dish of kebab shops in Australia.[2][6]
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] The dish also exists in New Zealand, where it is known as meat on chips.[10] Another notable similar phenomena is the Dutch kapsalon.
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.[20][21][22] 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.[23][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][18] 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.[citation needed]
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