We drove southeast towards city limits, hungry to try some legendary chicken wraps we had read about online.

Sabaya Shack, a no-frills Somali takeout restaurant that makes very affordable chicken wraps, suqar and a plethora of other dishes from cuisines both near and far, is tucked away in an industrial park near a massive snow dump.

Owner Ali greeted us with a wide smile and asked us what we’d like to order. He confirmed what we had read online—if it’s your first time at Sabaya, go with the chicken wrap. I went with the spicy version while Eat the Strip’s friend Carina Pogoler, who tagged along for the adventure, went with mild.

Ali stepped into the kitchen and told us to help ourselves to a milk cake, offered free on occasion of Carina’s recent birthday.

Our order was ready quickly, we paid and decided to chow down on the wraps in the parking lot, using the hood of my car as a table. I grew up in a city where it’s common to eat with friends in parking lots. It’s something I want to do more often in Ottawa—temperature permitting, of course.

The chicken wraps were delightful. Ali used crispy fresh onions to cut the spice of the chicken, which tasted a tad like tandoori chicken. The sauce was creamy, peppery and well-spiced. However, the highlight was the breads used to make the wraps.

Well-loved by the Somali diaspora, sabaayad bread is closely related to the paratha of the Indian subcontinent. Ali uses this bread to hold the wraps. You can taste the egg that’s cracked on top of the griddled to give it an extra-light, flaky texture.

The wrap reminded a lot of kathi rolls, a popular Indian street food originating in Calcutta. I’ve been on the hunt for good kathi rolls in Ottawa and Sabaya Shack’s was just as good if not better.

We parted ways with Ali by thanking him and assuring him we’ll be back for more of his extraordinary food, which set us back around $23.