On a warm July Wednesday, I pointed the car south toward Barrhaven. Aroy Thai was first recommended to us by a reader back in 2023. I'm slightly ashamed to admit it took nearly three years to finally make the trip, but better late than never.

The drive itself takes you through stretches of fields and some surprisingly rural corners of south Ottawa before eventually bringing you to an unassuming Quickie gas station on Rideaucrest Drive. Before leaving home, I'd done a little homework and phoned in an order for two dishes that always make my shortlist at any Thai restaurant: pad kee mao, better known as drunken noodles, and gaeng khiao wan, or Thai green curry. When the woman taking my order asked how spicy I'd like it, I told her to make it the way she likes it or the way it's commonly served in Thailand.

That woman turned out to be owner Suphatra Khongton.

When readers first told us about Aroy Thai, one thing kept coming up alongside the food: how incredibly kind the woman running the place was. They weren't exaggerating.

For our first Ottawa feature in almost a year, it somehow felt fitting that we'd return with a proper Eat the Strip hidden gem. Walking into the Quickie, there's a small sign tucked away at the back pointing you toward Aroy Thai. Suphatra later told me that "Aroy" simply means "tasty" in Thai. Hidden away inside the back of a convenience store, my hidden gem radar immediately started going off. This felt like the real deal.

Aroy Thai is strictly takeout. Twenty minutes after placing my order, everything was hot, fresh and ready to go. The two dishes came to around $38. Before I'd even introduced myself or mentioned the blog, Suphatra handed over my bag with two complimentary spring rolls tucked inside. A smiley face had been drawn on the packaging. It was a small gesture, but one that said plenty about the person running the place.

Suphatra greeted me with an enormous smile. When I explained the blog and why I was there, her face lit up with the kind of genuine excitement that makes interviews easy. Those bright, sparkly eyes somehow disguise the reality that she's in the restaurant from 7 a.m. until around 9:30 p.m. most days, running almost the entire operation herself.

She took over Aroy Thai about six years ago from a friend who had originally encouraged her to move to Canada in 2009. Back in Bangkok, Suphatra worked as a chef preparing Thai street food at a local market before her friend suggested making the move overseas to work alongside her.

Landing in Canada wasn't exactly easy.

"I didn't know where to go. I never left Thailand before," she says, miming arriving with two suitcases and not knowing a single person.

Cooking, however, had always been second nature.

"I like to cook because my mother taught me how cook."

After working for her friend, the opportunity eventually arose to take over the business herself when the workload became too much for one person to manage.

These days, the undisputed bestseller is the pad thai, which probably won't surprise anyone. But when I ask what she personally loves most, she doesn't hesitate. It's the pad see ew, a comforting plate of wide rice noodles stir-fried with soy sauce, Chinese broccoli and egg. The answer has nothing to do with popularity and everything to do with family. It was her father's favourite dish, and she cooked it for him countless times.

Over six years, she's built up a loyal following of regulars, particularly among customers who appreciate proper Thai spice levels. She laughs while describing how one customer brings their son, who later brings somebody else, who then tells someone else. That's largely how Aroy Thai has grown.

One story still makes her smile. Her son travelled to Thailand last year and ended up calling home to tell her he preferred her pad thai to the versions he was eating there.

As for what's next?

"I hope I'm still here and I want to talk to customers and I want to build the community."

"They want to support me and I want to give them everything."

It's a lovely sentiment, especially considering how hidden away the restaurant is.

Being tucked inside the back of a gas station convenience store isn't exactly prime real estate.

"Nobody sees me—they asked me how long are you open," she says, explaining how first-time customers are often shocked to discover she's been here for years.

Many of them end up calling it their secret place.

Back home, I bounced between the green curry and the drunken noodles while gradually working my way through an increasingly healthy supply of napkins. My nose was running by the end, exactly as I'd hoped.

The vegetables still had plenty of crunch, something that's surprisingly easy to lose in takeout. The curry was dotted with genuine Thai chilies, bringing bright bursts of heat that played beautifully against the richness of the coconut milk and the fragrant basil. The chicken strips were juicy and tender without crossing into overcooked territory. Halfway through the meal, I caught myself wondering out loud why coconut milk never seems to taste this good when I cook with it at home.

If you're looking for a solid Thai meal in Ottawa, Aroy Thai deserves a place on your list. There's no dining room, no carefully curated atmosphere and no trendy interior designed for Instagram. It's simply a tiny takeout counter hidden inside the back of a convenience store.

What it does have is heart.

That heart belongs to Suphatra, who has poured herself into this little restaurant for the past six years. The food is delicious, the story behind it is even better, and after finally making the trip to Barrhaven, I only wish we'd listened to our readers sooner.