When I went back to Malaysia in summer, most common question asked is “What is most delicious food in Ireland”? I think the best dish in Ireland has to be the spice bag. Spice bags are normally sold in Chinese restaurants, more commonly in Dublin. This is a uniquely Irish creation.

I cannot remember how we stumbled on the spice bag. When we first arrived here, we enjoyed the seafood chowder, fish and chips, steaks, roasts, bacon, pasta, pizza. I’ve not had any bad experience with food in Ireland. The fresh ingredients make up for the quality of the dish.

However it came to us, we are now hooked on spice bags. We get it once in a while when there’s something to “celebrate”. When we have early dinner some days, will go and get a spice bag for supper and that ends the day on a bright side.

The Best Spice Bag

Spice bags are normally made up of thick cut chips, battered fried chicken and some onions. The ingredients are deep fried and then mixed in with spices. Each shop have their own mix of spices with some heat from the chilis.

Our favourite comes from Xian street food. The restaurant serves very good noodles. Their spice bag is by far the best that I’d had in Dublin. It is full of flavour and they are not shy to load on the chilis. We also like the portion, normally we have leftovers from bag.

Some cafes / pubs have started to serve their own version of spice bag. This is fish spice bag, made from fish scraps. We got this from Fishbar in Bray. Their version is also tasty with loads of spices and flavourful fish meat.

There are also spice bag powder being sold in shops for you to make it a home. We tried one before but it’s nowhere near the spice bag you can get from the shops.