PONG's POUTINE - Stittsville ON

 Sometimes the stars align and everything just works out the way you want. A few years ago I heard about a little chip truck in Stittsville called Pong's Poutine that has always gotten rave reviews. Not only do they seem to have killer fries and poutine, but every week they have a different special and sometimes that's General Tso chicken. And I love General Tso chicken. I don't get out there often, and when I've been in the area and down for some fries, they've been closed ...

Then one day I was out in the west end of Kanata when I saw a post about Pong's special for the day: Bacon Cheeseburger with Poutine & a drink for $10, but the weekly poutine was General Tso ... I mean, I had to go!

Pong's is located just off the 417 on Carp Road in the parking lot of Ritchie's Feed & Seed, next to a flea market. It's a standard chip wagon but they've carved out area for seating (when COVID is not going on) with trash cans and their set up. I love their giant mascot on the wagon of a fry guy weilding a spatula like a sword!

The menu itself is pretty standard chip truck fare: fries, poutine, burgers, pogos etc. What sets them apart is the daily and weekly specials, often with an Asian flare, like Pad Thai or sping rolls, or in the case of this trip, General Tso chicken. 

There was already a crowd outside, which I had tried to bypass by calling ahead, but they were busy and didn't answer the phone. Despite being busy, they were friendly at the window. It's clear they have regulars who know them well, asking about their kids, business etc. 

I ordered the bacon cheeseburger combo, but asked if I could upgrade the poutine to the General Tso. They said yes. With taxes and tip it came to $16. They gave me a number and I waited for about 15 minutes. It felt like forever on this sunny and hot day!

The combo was packaged up in a cardboard box and I was given the option of a bag to take it in, in which they put in a fork and several napkins. I went back to the a/c of the car and opened up lunch.

 

Wow what a box! It was jammed pack with poutine goodness and a big burger! Even if this wasn't the upgraded poutine this was a great deal.

I went for the burger first. The burger was not what I expected at all, in a good way. I expected the standard chip truck frozen burger patty and cheap utilitarian bun. Instead, I got a handmade patty and a fresh kaiser bun! The bun to meat ratio was a bit off - while the burger is thick, it's not a wide burger while the bun is quite wide.

I was asked what I wanted on the burger and for some reason I said just mayo. I wasn't looking for a ton of toppings, but why I just said mayo I don't know. So my burger was super basic, but it was good. The bun was fresh and very soft. The burger patty was from ground beef and tasted so much better than the frozen pucks most places serve. The bacon was crisp with a little chew and the cheese I believe was processed as a good burger should have. Meaty, bacon-y, cheesy goodness!

Then there was the poutine. It was a big serving - much bigger than I expected. Half the box was loaded down thick with ingredients and I ended up eating this portion size for a few times after!

This General Tso Poutine has your classic fresh cut fries, layered with squeeky cheese curds and gravy, which is topped with fried chicken chunks with Pong's version of General Tso sauce and sesame seeds for garnish. A-mazing. 

Evaluating just the poutine - I loved it. The fries are skinnier than a lot of places, skin on, crispy. The cheese curds are generous, large, and squeaky. The gravy is good but it got a bit lost with the General Tso sauce. This poutine was aces in my book.

The rest of this dish was topped with deep fried battered chicken chunks. There were about 7 or so pieces which were crispy, but also tender on the inside. Then Pong's topped it with the sauce. It didn't taste like any General Tso sauce I've had before, and I wouldn't say my favourite. The dominant flavour was sesame oil with something very very sweet. It was good, but General Tso sauce to me is a balance of sweet and spicy. This was mostly sesame oil. 

Overall I was very happy with my meal. The combo deal was great, the food was fresh, reasonably priced and just made me very happy. That burger was homemade with crispy bacon and cheese and that kaiser bun changes the burger game up. The poutine is spot on, and while I wasn't crazy about the General Tso sauce, the chicken chunks were pretty good. I'm sad I've only gotten it after so long, and I look forward to going back!

Pong's Poutine

2079 Carp Road, Stittsville ON

facebook.com/pongspoutine