If you’ve ever listened to an Irish friend complain that Toronto has great food but nowhere to get a proper spice bag, just point them to Ossington Ave.
The Golden Dragon is nestled on the Ossington strip, just west of Trinity Bellwoods Park, and is known for the tastiest Irish-Chinese comfort food. If you’re new to this culinary mash-up, it’s a Chinese takeaway style developed in Ireland! The most famous example is literally called a spice bag: a mix of crispy chicken, fries, onions and peppers tossed in a chilli-and-five-spice blend, often piled into a paper bag or container.
The restaurant’s most popular item is the Spice Bag + Curry Sauce ($24), built from 9 oz of crispy chicken with onions, peppers, chips and curry sauce, so exactly the kind of spicy-starchy comfort food that Irish influencers are raving about!
Jamie Harkin (“Just an Irish boy who fell in love with Canada”) recently hailed the restaurant as the most Irish-Chinese experience in the country.
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You can also order riffs on the Irish 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 takeaway classics that combine “chips” (fries), rice and curry in one container. Try the 3-in-1 (half egg-fried rice, half fries, curry sauce) or a 4-in-1 that ups the ante with crispy chicken on top of egg-fried rice and chips, all drowned in curry.
The space also serves familiar Chinese-Canadian faves, like Singapore noodles with bean sprouts, peppers and madras curry; chicken balls with your choice of sauce; crispy chilli beef; and delicious comfort curries (both chicken and beef versions). Or indulge in classic starters, like sesame prawn toast, spring rolls, duck rolls and a crispy quarter duck with pancakes, hoisin, cucumber and scallions.
The Golden Dragon is located at 214 Ossington Ave. It’s open from Thursday to Monday from 5 pm to late.
If you’re craving more Irish-Chinese creations, you don’t need a flight to Dublin! Here are a few more spots where you can get red hot Irish Spice Bags in Toronto right now.
