Chef On Wheels

Chef On Wheels offers Viet/​Thai food, as well as some standard Western truck food, and is convenient because it’s right by my work and open during the peak lunch hours during the week. This food truck seems to stay open a bit longer throughout the year into the colder months than some others do. The prices are reasonable and the service is fine (also a family business), but the food is not fantastic.
I always try to order more unique items, so I got the curry chicken and vegetable poutine. It came with some chicken breast pieces, bean sauteed bean sprouts, lots of baby corn, and lots of sauce, topped with crispy fried onions and some green onions. It tasted fine, but the fries weren’t crispy, especially after being drowned in the sauce, which I found to be pretty salty. It didn’t look like there was any cheese, and if there was, I didn’t taste any — not that it would have been very good with cheese, but I’m sure it’s really fair to really call it poutine without it. The portion was good and filling, but there was way too much sauce and I wasn’t satisfied.
On another occasion, I was craving a bánh mì (a classic Vietnamese sandwich), so I stopped by Chef On Wheels. I ordered the beef, which I wasn’t crazy about to begin with (I prefer pork), and although it was good, it was not very traditional. Instead of a soft mini baguette, it came in a harder ciabatta bun that was actually sort of difficult to bite into without all of the fillings falling out, and it didn’t have the pork liver pâté! I’m all about the pâté, so I was pretty disappointed that there wasn’t any. The pickled veggies were actually my favorite, and I ended up just eating them out of the sandwich.
I’m sure I’ll be back to try it again sometime, but there are far more options on Elgin to try.

I was in the area running an errand at the RBC branch on the corner of Lisgar and Elgin St. The food truck sits between the city hall building and Lisgar facing the bank. The intoxicating aromas called my attention and I was immediately drawn to their spot.
At the time I went, the food truck was being operated by two individuals. The chef in the back and a friendly cashier who was taking everyone’s order. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to order, however I did know that I didn’t want to have any Phở. I was deciding between the Thai beef and the Pad Thai. I ended up getting the Pad Thai, because:
1. You can’t go wrong with going that route.
2. How hard is it to make a simple standard Pad Thai.
I waited impatiently (in a calm way) for the Pad Thai to be prepped. While I was there they had a small crowd of people standing and waiting for their orders that I figured it would be good. I asked for extra lime and grabbed some hoisin sauce and thanked the dudes and started to walk off to the bus stop near by, I was so hungry that I actually started to eat while I waited for my bus.
This review story, doesn’t end well guys. Now — I don’t know if this was a one time thing — and maybe a bad batch? But there were so many wrong things with it.
— It lacked flavour,
— tasted like they added oregano?
— shrimp was not properly prepped.
— lack of color
— 90% of it was just noodles.
— I didn’t even get extra lines! (Which is not really a big deal since he must have forgotten.)
Needless to say, I was not impressed with the way this was prepared. They should have just called it ⁹⁰⁄₁₀. Nodles with some chicken and shrimp. I had 2 other people taste it at work and they agreed with me. I hate wasting food, but I ended up taking 4 – 5 bites and ended up throwing it away. (I strongly dislike throwing food away) but let’s be honest — what I hate more than throwing food away is spending money on food that serves no purpose for enjoying in my mouth. I rather spend 9 bucks on the ingredients and make a better version. I can make a better dish than that!
Maybe try their Phở and fries? They might be better. But if you are feeling like eating Pad Thai. Don’t get it here.

Only tried their fries. They were very pale… not done right. Not golden and crispy. So we didn’t go back to try his pad thai :/​Pad thai is pretty pricey for a food truck.

Maybe their poutine is great but, the «Thai» stuff I had was pretty much garbage. Overcooked «pad thai» and suburban mall-​style spring rolls. Seems to be an Eastern Canadian tradition of «Vietnamese and Thai», which is never a good sign.

One of the few food trucks in Ottawa that sells something other than french fries, poutine, dogs, sausages and burgers. Vermicelli with Vietnamese Beef, Pad Thai and Phở are many of their main menu dishes.
Good food.