Paddy Chan is the first Irish Chinese restaurant in Sydney and they've just opened up their second branch in Newtown. While the original shop in Kensington is a strictly takeaway establishment, at Newtown you can sit and eat in. So what is Irish Chinese food like and what is a must order at Paddy Chans' (spoiler: it is HUGE so bring a group!).
I've been intrigued by the idea of Irish Chinese food ever since I heard that Paddy Chan opened in Kensington. Unfortunately while we used to live in Kensington, Paddy Chans opened after we moved and we never quite got there because it was takeaway only. But when we were walking on King Street in Newtown, I saw the familiar green sign and a few days later the restaurant opened and we came ravenously hungry (tip: you need to be hungry).
Irish Chinese food started in the mid-20th century with the wave of Chinese immigration to Ireland, primarily from Hong Kong and Guangdong in southern China. The first Chinese restaurants in Ireland appeared in the 1940s and 1950s mainly in Dublin. These Chinese restaurants introduced dishes adapted to local Irish tastes featuring milder flavours and more fried options with the inclusion of familiar ingredients like hot chips to appeal to Irish palates. Over time, dishes like "spice bags" (a mix of fried chicken, chips and chili spices), Munch boxes became part of Irish Chinese cuisine.
The owners of Paddy Chans are David, Darren and Nick who all went to school together in County Wicklow, Ireland. After arriving in Sydney they quickly realised that there was no Irish Chinese food like they had back home in Ireland. In May 2024 they opened their own takeaway shop in Kensington with Nick the chef spearheading the menu.
At Paddy Chans, ordering is done at the counter where you can peruse the illuminated menu. There are a range of starters and while some of it may sound familiar, some have an unique twist. For example there are three types of spring rolls (chicken & cheese, chicken &vegetable or vegetable) as well as bbq ribs, chicken balls as well as noodles several varieties.
And then there's the Munch Box. Bring 3 of your favourite people for this because it is a huge pizza box filled with food. On the base is a bed of fried rice topped with hot chips, crispy chicken strips, bbq ribs, chicken and vegetable spring rolls and a choice of 2 sauces. It fills up a pizza box with the ribs and sauces coming in separate containers. There is a smaller version for 1 person (but really 2 people) called a Spice Box.
In Ireland, a Munch Box refers to a popular fast food meal consisting of a large box filled with a variety of items designed for sharing. The contents usually include a mix of fried and grilled foods. And I can't wait to dive into this because it smells so good. We ordered it with chilli salt for $3 extra which I definitely recommend if you like things spicy. The two sauces we ordered were the curry sauce and the sweet and sour sauce.
Everyone talks about the chicken balls and they are delicious. They're filled with soft chicken breast without any added filler and they're great dipped in the sweet and sour sauce. They suggest getting a bit of everything and placing it on your plate and then pouring sauce over or dippings things in the sauce. The spring rolls too are filled with chicken, lots of chicken in fact and aren't the typical ones with lots of vegetables and noodles (next time I'd get the vegetable ones or try the chicken and cheese). The bbq pork ribs are soft and quite sweet with a star anise scented char siu style of sauce while the crispy chicken strips are hot and freshly fried. I like dipping these into the curry sauce which is definitely my favourite sauce. The curry sauce also goes well spooned over the fried rice.
We also ordered one additional item, the noodle box because while they have Chow Mein and Singapore Noodles which are like the regular renditions, the noodle box is a more unique Irish Chinese offering where you can get the sauce cooked into the noodles. There's a choice of curry, satay, sweet chilli, sweet and sour and black bean and I ordered the satay. I saw a lot of people on Tiktok talk about how heavy and big the serves are and you definitely notice that. The box of noodles weighs in around 1kg/.2lbs. These noodles are totally addictive, they have a good amount of vegetables and egg in them and the addition of satay sauce into the noodles along with the regular soy seasoning is just delicious. I would order this again in a heartbeat.
All of this was washed down with a Club rock shandy ($4.95) with real bits which is an orange and lemon carbonated soft drink which is said to have real orange bits in it. By the end of the meal it looks like we've barely touched it even though we are bursting at the seams but it's all ready to take away in this packaging.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried Irish Chinese food and if so, what did you think of it?
This meal was independently paid for.
Paddy Chans
15 King St, Newtown NSW 2042
Monday, Thursday & Friday 3:30–10 pm
Saturday 3–10:30 pm
Sunday 2:30–10:30 pm
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
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