TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Flavor adventures in outback menus
Outback Steakhouse allows diners to explore different flavors through Southeast Asian fusion and personalized menusOutback Steakhouse is an American casual dining restaurant specializing in steak with a venue whose design has been inspired by the Australian hinterland
Change Size
Outback Steakhouse allows diners to explore different flavors through Southeast Asian fusion and personalized menus
Outback Steakhouse is an American casual dining restaurant specializing in steak with a venue whose design has been inspired by the Australian hinterland. Beyond its core menu, the restaurant is now been offering a number of Southeast Asian fusion menus as well as personalized treats for diners to explore different flavor nuances.
Outback Steakhouse Southeast Asia chairman Prasoon Mukherjee said while the restaurant still focused on its core menus — steak as well as fish- and chicken-based foods — it had introduced Southeast Asian-inspired menus.
These menus include appetizers such as shrimp and avocado ceviche, crispy volcano shrimp and crispy chicken bites; while the main course comprises the firecracker salmon, which is grilled salmon marinated in hot firecracker sauce and served with slices of mango and red onions, offering a combination of hot, sour and sweet flavors.
The menus seek to cater to the tastes of Southeast Asian people who like to consume hot and spicy foods with rich flavor nuances.
Mukherjee added that the Southeast Asian menus have also gained popularity in the United States.
“The tastes of people in the United States are now changing because they have become much more international now, being exposed to contemporary foods. They have also become more exposed to diversity,” he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of a new Outback Steakhouse outlet in Pasaraya Blok M shopping center, South Jakarta.
Established in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, the restaurant opened its doors in Indonesia in 2001 in the Ratu Plaza shopping center. It now has outlets in Pondok Indah Mall 1, Lippo Mall Puri at the St. Moritz shopping center and Kuningan City Mall. It has also opened outlets in other Southeast Asian countries as well as India.
“We have decided to expand to the Blok M area because it has become an emerging commercial hub in Jakarta, if you look at the office buildings, residential areas and shopping centers that operate here. This area offers the right demographic for us to open an outlet,” Mukherjee explained.
The steakhouse differentiates itself from other restaurants offering similar menus by personalizing the food it serves.
“Our restaurant has a ‘no rules’ concept, whereby whatever ingredients are available in the kitchen, we can make it for our customers. For instance, if they want a burger with shrimp on top, they can have it,” he said.
Design-wise, the new restaurant in Pasaraya Blok M features a more contemporary look allowing more light to enter into the space, with an openness offered in its façade area. This way, the new venue looks different from the restaurant’s other outlets, which pretty much maintain their Victorian-style steakhouse look.
During the launch of the new restaurant, the Universal Success Enterprises Group — which holds the Southeast Asian franchise for Outback Steakhouse — also donated money to its longtime corporate social responsibility partner, SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia.
SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia is a non-profit organization that takes care of orphans. During the event, the group also announced its commitment to finance the education of four children under the organization’s care right into their university years.
