Irish spice bags, a viral sensation in Cardiff
Irish spice bags, come to Cardiff you can experience the Irish Chinese takeaway phenomenon this winter. A new menu called The Irish Spice Bag menu will be launched at Neighbourhood Kitchen in Riverside on Wednesday, February 5.
The Irish spice bag is a fast-food dish which became popular in Ireland but is inspired by Chinese cuisine. The dish, which is commonly sold in Chinese takeaways in Ireland, consists of salt and pepper chilli chips, salt and chilli chicken, red and green peppers, sliced chilli peppers, fried onions and a variety of spices.
Ahead of the new menu’s launch, Neighbourhood explained that while the base of their spice bag starts with their in-house hand-cut fries, sauteed onions and peppers, diners will get to customise their own Irish spice bags by adding crispy chicken, crispy beef, chip-shop scampi, Quorn strips or take it a step further with their house special, which will be a combination of them all.
Additionally, diners will get to choose their own mild or fiery seasoning, with the option of choosing either Chinese Five Spice, Lemon Pepper or Spicy Habanero, before then choosing an accompanying dip which could be the classic chip shop or Irish curry sauce, sweet chilli or crispy chilli oil.
According to Neighbourhood, the mix will then all be sealed tight in a bag, “shaken to perfection” before being served on the table. Diners can also choose sides to be served with the dish, including prawn toast, sticky chicken wings, pork spare ribs, crispy spring rolls and Char Siu pork buns, amongst other things.
The Irish food phenomenon has not just become a hit in Ireland but also online. On TikTok, videos of the Irish spice bag has circulated on the social media platform, with one TikTok receiving over 104.5k reactions. People can also try out salt and pepper chips which is often often sold as a dish in most Chinese restaurants. In Wales, we have a plethora of fantastic Chinese restaurants, which you can find out more here.
According to The Spicery blog, in which a writer called Georgia tried out all the best spice bags in Ireland, the phenomenon was allegedly created in 2010 by The Sunflower Chinese takeaway in Templeogue, Dublin and has since garnered something of “a cult following”.
It was voted Ireland’s favourite takeaway dish in the JustEast Takeaway Awards in 2020, and a Facebook group named ‘Spice Bag Appreciation Society’ has over 16k members. The Irish Spice Bag will be served at Neighbourhood for four weeks, starting on Wednesday, February 5 and finishing on Saturday, March 1.
Ahead of the new menu, the owner of Neighbourhood, Tudor Barber, said: “We’re throwing it back to the classic Chinese takeaway, fortune cookies and all! After seeing Irish Spice Bags all over my social media I thought Cardiff had to have a taste. It was a great opportunity to get our chefs busy in the kitchen creating a feast that screamed traditional takeaway favourites with a Neighbourhood twist that still absolutely delivers on flavour!
“This is the perfect menu to gather your friends and family or treat your partner to something a little different. I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when they get to tear open their own customised Irish Spice Bags surrounded by a table full of delicious food. It’s a feast for the eyes as well as the belly, so pull together your squad and come and see what all the fuss is about!”
