MISS VANCOUVER PIGGY
On the way to a barbecue in Langley, my friend gave me strict instructions "no food stops". Umm excuse me? I guess some people are really into their barbecuing… Do not even get me started on the horrible 200th Street too and I cannot stop for food?! Madness! I never complain about Richmond or Downtown traffic, but WTF is up with 200th Street? I hate it. The traffic can range from a mere ten minutes to a forty five minute difference off the highway to anywhere I have to go! So of course to treat myself, I had to stop at Estrella's.
Estrella's has been my go-to place for many years, as in half a decade! A couple of my friends from Montreal first introduced the restaurant to me during my SFU years and I fell in love. I even used to come here at least twice a week whenever I was in Langley.
Walking in, there is a nice smoked meat aroma which is not to be mistaken with greasy or the non well-ventilated kind. The restaurant is clean and there are a good amount of seats for this type of joint. Although during busier hours, Estrella's does get busy and a wait can be expected. As for the organized chalkboard menu, it is posted on the wall and customers order as well as pay at the front.
When heading back to the car after having dinner at Noma, I noticed a little cafe that serves ice cream from Island Farms. Mattu's Coffee & Tea is located in Willoughby Town Centre which is not to be confused with Willowbrook Centre (although they have a location there as well), and is the coffee shops' second location. 
The cafe not only offers coffee, but tea, frappes, milkshakes and alcoholic beverages as well such as beer, coolers, and martini. Asides from the drinks, the cafe offers generic goodies such as soup, pastries (lemon, cranberry, apple crumble, triple berry and date bars), quiche and biscotti. In addition, there is even a heart shaped Barbie cookie! Although I am not sure if the baked goodies are housemade. 
Noma is located in Langley at what appears to be a newer developed area, Willoughby Town Centre, along with stores such as Shoppers, President's Choice and Mattu's Coffee & Tea. The reason for visiting Noma is quite silly actually. We only came here because I wanted to take a photo of my Louboutins with their koi pond! That is a painting on the floor… not a real one. In addition, to make the drive to Langley seem more purposeful, we went to see Godzilla after at the Colossus (DBX which is way better than VIP!).
Asides for a photo of my Louboutins, the photos of the interior which are posted online lured me in as well, mainly because of the koi whirlpools painted on the floor. The restaurant has a high ceiling and a clean simple interior. As for the seating arrangements, there are a few seats by the sushi bar, around ten tables, and outdoor seating is available as well. Actually, it was a bit annoying that the side door was left open (which is understandable) because the dandelion fuzzes kept flying in and could land on the food. Either way, it was fine because eventually we were moved since the table was too small for our order.
When we walked in, there were four seated tables and by the time we finished ordering, no one had food on their table. Everyone seemed to be waiting quite a long time for food and the restaurant may have the wrong concept. Some restaurants think just because customers are at the restaurant, they can wait to eat. And for those grabbing pick up, can come and leave right away, which was the case. But, a good system is to always take care of the appetizers and give customers something to munch on. Speaking of appetizers, twenty minutes after ordering, we received our order of soft shell crab.
Looking for a new Japanese restaurant to try based on photos (hey, it worked the first time and I found a pretty good restaurant using this method, Kaya Japanese!), a next "must visit" for myself was Tokyo Hon. Tokyo Hon is located in Langley near Walmart and Save on Foods. Really? Langley? Yeah, I could not find anything in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Vancouver that seemed like a must visit for me. By the way, I had to wait two days just to make it out here and those felt like the longest days ever! Walking in on a weeknight, the restaurant was not very busy and a friendly waitress asked if we wanted to sit in a room or at a table.
I appreciate her asking considering it was only the two of us and the room (not the same one pictured) was big enough for six! The restaurant has two sides, one with tables sectioned off by dividers and the other with seats by the sushi bar, sofas for those waiting for take out and I believe four private rooms. The interior is pretty big as well as spacious, clean and quite nice. Tokyo Hon has a relaxing atmosphere and is very homey.
Hirame Sushi is located in Langley at the Brookswood Plaza and used to be my favourite Japanese restaurant. However, is now only one of them due to the quality going downhill in the last four years despite being still above average. Hirame is known for their huge selection of rolls as well as large portions with an above average quality and although the restaurant is a bit small, there is a good amount of seating for the restaurant's size. Hirame serves all you can eat as well as a la carte, however, their AYCE is not like any typical AYCE restaurant. The portions for AYCE are exactly the same as when ordering a la carte, meaning, huge portions and the possibility of not being able to try a bit of everything on the menu. The good part is that the rolls are freshly made rather than pre made, however, the downside is for those with smaller parties such as only a few people, can only try one or two rolls.
