A food reviewer from Dublin known as ‘Ireland’s most honest’ set out to find a Spice Bag in Scotland to see if he could get one that tastes just as good as home
Liam McInerney Content Editor
11:45, 30 Dec 2025Updated 11:47, 30 Dec 2025
Paul dipped his chicken ball in curry sauce (Image: Paul_IsItWorthIt/Youtube)
A Dublin food critic sampled what he described as “Ireland’s national dish” in Scotland– though it wasn’t the food itself that left him stunned.
Outlining his quest, content creator Paul_IsItWorthIt explained: “Boom, can you get a good Spice Bag outside of Ireland? We haven’t found one yet but today we are at North Palace – we are in Scotland.”
While our traditional national dish might be stew, the beloved Irish takeaway staple known as the Spice Bag has surged in popularity and features prominently in Chinese chippies across the nation. Last year, Deliveroo disclosed that the Spice Bag Meal Deal from Xian Street Food in Dublin ranked as the most trending dish nationwide.
A typical Spice Bag from a chipper packs between 1,200 and 1,400 calories and comprises chips, chicken, fried onions and peppers alongside a “spice mix” featuring ingredients such as salt, chilli, garlic, paprika, five-spice, sugar and MSG.
It’s typically accompanied by either chilli sauce or curry sauce, and it was the latter that absolutely floored Paul during his trip to North Palace Chinese takeaway in the Scottish town of Bellshill.
Paul outside North Palace in the Scottish town of Bellshill (Image: Paul_IsItWorthIt/Youtube)
Following cameraman John’s order, Paul informed his followers: “£11.20 for a Spice Bag and curry sauce. Do I have high hopes? Not really.”
Unpacking the food bag, he was taken aback by the generous portion of chicken, observing that chicken balls were thrown in. John, meanwhile, conceded it appeared “very different” to an Irish Spice Bag, though it still looked rather tempting.
He went on: “I was chatting to your one in there and she was like ‘oh you’re from Ireland’ and I asked her why they do Spice Bags and she said she saw it online and she said ‘Why are you trying to compare them?'”
Chuckling, Paul responded: “Yeah, I’m the Spice Bag expert. You wouldn’t find a bigger expert.”
The Spice Bag in question (Image: Paul_IsItWorthIt/Youtube)
Tucking into his meal, he noted that the chips were lacking sufficient seasoning for an authentic Spice Bag, while likening the chicken batter to that used for pancakes.
Yet upon opening the curry sauce container, he exclaimed: “Oh my, that curry sauce looks tremendous.”
After dipping a chip to test its consistency, he remarked: “It’s a banging curry sauce. Banging. Oh, that’s up there. The chicken you’re getting is a proper breast of chicken just cut up. That is made in house that curry sauce. That curry sauce is unbelievable. Unbelievable.”
Paul, who describes himself as “Ireland’s most honest food reviewer”, heaped further praise upon it, declaring: “So peppery, so spicy, delicious. That is one of the best curry sauces I’ve had in my time reviewing curry sauce and it’s an absolutely huge tub, I’ve never seen one that big before.”
Ultimately, he concluded the Spice Bag itself was “not great” largely due to the lacklustre seasoning. He also advised he would only give it his blessing if accompanied by the “spectacular” curry sauce as an extra.
The curry sauce was a huge hit (Image: Paul_IsItWorthIt/Youtube)
Before revealing his score out of ten, which takes into account taste, price and overall experience, John praised: “Let me just say, all the videos we have done, that’s the best service we’ve ever got. Nicest person ever. Nicest person ever. Accommodating, everything.”
Taking this into consideration, Paul gave his verdict: “I’m going to go 6.9 out of ten because the curry sauce is spectacular. The Spice Bag is not great.”
He added: “So, have we found a fantastic Spice Bag outside of Ireland? Not yet. But we have found an unbelievable curry sauce.”
Following the video’s release, which can be viewed in full here, one viewer took issue with the title, stating: “It’s popular with the 11pm-2am crowd but it’s not our national dish.”
Another commented: “They use fresh chicken which is better than most Irish Chineses yet you’ll still probably rate it down.”
The term “national dish” sparked debate among viewers, with one responding: “It really is though like it or not. My kids eat it every week.”