9 affordable lunch picks just steps from Tunney's Pasture

Skip the office cafeteria and walk west for pan-fried gnocchi poutine, hand-laminated Taiwanese street wraps and more under $20.

The federal government’s four-day in-office requirement reached the one-week mark on July 13, giving public servants at Tunney’s Pasture time to confront one of the campus’s oldest problems. Food options on site are scarce. A better lunch begins a short walk west.

Wellington West and Hintonburg are 10 to 20 minutes away on foot, with one of Ottawa’s densest restaurant strips and a strong claim to being its most delicious . Some of the best midday bargains come from places not usually associated with lunch. An ice cream shop makes wraps, while a ravioli counter serves poutine.

MORE MEALS : Public servants near Parliament Hill can find nine affordable lunch options closer to their offices The nine picks below include recent openings and established neighbourhood favourites, all priced below $20. $11 gnocchi poutine from Parma Ravioli 1314 Wellington St. W.; parmaravioli.ca Pan-frying separates this dish from other servings of gnocchi or poutine in the city. The dumplings go into a hot pan first, so they come out browned and lightly crisp at the edges before curds, mozzarella and brown gravy are added on top and start softening them again.

The dough is mixed by hand at 80 to 90 per cent Yukon Gold, which is why the interior stays light and fluffy instead of becoming the dense, bullet-textured gnocchi that comes from potato flakes. The delectable poutine recipe came from a memory of the owner sharing fries with a daughter at a pataterie . Parma Ravioli’s hot X-Press Counter is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Order your dish to go and take a lap of the store before you leave, because the frozen fig ravioli and the fresh sauces are how your lunch break may also feed into your dinner plan. $12 shaobing wrap from Moo Shu Ice Cream & Kitchen 1130 Wellington St. W., Unit 1; mooshuicecream.com While everyone knows Moo Shu ice cream for popular scoops like Hong Kong milk tea and black sesame, their savoury Asian street food wraps are an insider lunch secret. Available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., these wraps are made on a hand-laminated flatbread somewhere between flaky pastry and chewy sandwich bread.

Fillings rotate and skew creative, like a garlic tofu with a house-made sweet koji sauce, pickled shallots and chili crisp. Best of all, it gives you a valid excuse to add a frozen treat to your midday rotation. The shop is closed on Tuesdays.

$7 beef brisket suadero from Mi Amor Tacos 9 Bullman St.; miamortacos.com Sisters Gloria and Minerva Salazar opened this taqueria two years ago, cooking out of a shipping container in a Bullman Street parking lot with shaded picnic tables. It is already a top contender among the city’s taquerias with the beef brisket suadero as the pick of the five proteins, braised in its own fat until tender and heaped so high over doubled tortillas you can split one taco into two. Garnishes are minimal in the Puebla style, just cilantro and chopped onion, and the house-made salsas supply heat and tang.

Keep in mind they are closed on Mondays (and Sundays). $15 chicken hakka noodle from Namche Kitchen 1230 Wellington St. W.; namchekitchen.ca

If you love flavourful street food, the hakka noodle from this newly opened and underrated gem is a must-try. Unlike many restaurants in the city that tone down the heat , Namche serves fiery noodles, although they’ll ask what level you prefer. The chicken hakka noodles come in the desi style, wok-tossed in a generous portion and seasoned with a heavier hand compared with most versions in town.

Nepali customers have singled the noodles out as tasting like home. The momos give a second reason to visit. The chili momo is tossed in a sweet-hot sauce, while the jhol momo swims in a spiced broth.

Portions are sizeable and the service is fast and warm. $14 Nashville hot OG sandwich from Nunna’s Hot Chicken 45 Armstrong St.; nunnas.ca A big slab of deboned fried chicken thigh is dipped in hot oil and stacked with sweet pickles, coleslaw and signature sauce on a toasted brioche bun, with the heat level left up to you. When I asked for calibration, staff told me hot sits in sriracha territory and extra hot delivers a real kick.

As for the Carolina Reaper, well... she trailed off. Order with care. The chicken was tender inside and crunchy at the edges; the crisp slaw and cucumbers added a fresh counterpoint to the two sauces, one hot and one creamy, and the heat crept up on me over the course of the sandwich.

Everything is hand-breaded and made to order, and it shows. It’s a family operation, too. The owner lives upstairs, and his wife painted the mural.

An exceptional meal if you love a fried chicken sandwich. $19 bulgogi hotteok from Korean Mother’s Meals 260 Armstrong St.; korean-mothers-meals.square.site Hotteok, the stuffed pancake ranking among South Korea’s most beloved street foods, is the specialty at this Korean-owned takeout counter, which graduated from Ottawa’s farmers’ markets to a permanent Armstrong Street home. The bulgogi version is a savoury meal made for eating on the move.

The handmade dough griddles up crisp and fragrant, and the generous filling carries a gentle heat. I ordered medium, a wise call, because the spice grows as you eat. Reviewers who grew up on hotteok in Seoul vouch for the real thing here and the owner will walk first-timers through the menu, much of which is vegan.

You can order ahead for pickup. There is no indoor seating and only a few outdoor tables, but the location makes it easy to carry lunch to a nearby park. $13 bagel sandwich from Ottawa Bagelshop 1321 Wellington St. W.; ottawabagelshop.com A Wellington West institution since 1984, this shop changed Ontario law to allow the province’s first commercial, wood-burning oven.

Their authentic Montreal-style rounds are boiled in honey-water before hitting the wood fire, giving them a blistered exterior crunch and a malty finish. While the historic oven churns out warm batches all day, skip the plain cream cheese and order “The Stunner.” The sandwich layers smoked lox, cream cheese, cucumber, radish, dill and house-pickled jalapeños on a bagel type of your choice.

The radish provides a crunch, while the peppers add a kick. A final squeeze from the accompanying lemon wedge leaves you with a lunch that puts standard deli sandwiches to shame. $18.99 Bombay Masala toastie from Vylora Cafe 989 Wellington St. W.; facebook.com The newest cafe on this list serves Indian street food with matcha, coffee and fresh-squeezed juice in a flower-draped room.

It ranks among the more photographed interiors in Hintonburg and, on a hot day, among the coolest places to sit. The Bombay Masala toastie is tops on a menu spanning hot plates and a new Indo-Chinese section, down to smaller wraps and sandwiches, with samosas on the counter if you’re pressed for time. Juices are squeezed to order.

The watermelon is phenomenal, refreshing and not too sweet. $15 pork momos from The Momo Spot 79 Holland Ave.; iwantmomos.com Ottawa’s original Nepalese food trailblazer has perfected the art of the Himalayan dumpling. Their deep-fried pork momos feature a golden shell and a juicy filling of pork, green onion, cilantro, ginger, garlic and a house spice blend.

A splash of the spicy sesame or chili cilantro sauce takes the dumplings over the top. The Holland Avenue room fills up fast during peak hours, and a patio opens in warm weather, but the counter does brisk takeout for anyone racing a lunch clock. Budget your appetite, because one plate with a drink makes a light lunch, and momo devotees will want more.

Closed Mondays (and Sundays). Bonus: $7.50 creative coffee and $5 kooky cookie from Ahh!!! Coffee 50

Bayswater Ave.; ahhcoffee.com A return-to-office routine needs an afternoon caffeine stop and this one comes from Kyle Ratchford, the drink maker better known as the Booj, who opened the Bayswater Avenue shop in early March as a bigger stage for the made-from-scratch beverages he first poured at his cafe and dry bar in the Urban Art Collective . Try one of Booj’s caffeinated inventions, like the Breakfast in (South) America, an iced blend of espresso, milk and coconut dulce de leche under a shortbread crumble. It goes down easy with the sourdough toast and butter cookie from Johnny McEvoy of Rude Pizza Co., whose oddball flavours also include a chocolate miso gochugaru number, sold here and nowhere else at $5 apiece.

Mocktails are on hand for anyone not doing caffeine, and either way, it’s the sweet pick-me-up to conquer the post-lunch slump. Want to stay in the know about what’s happening in Ottawa? Sign up for the Ottawa Citizen’s arts and life newsletter — Out of Office — our weekly guide to eating, listening, reading, watching, playing, hanging, learning and living well in the capital.