Chuck and Kitty's Country Cafe

Chuck and Kitty's Country Cafe, the only reason BF and I made the trip to Harrison! Well, I could not justify driving all the way out to Harrison just to have some pie… so we decided to make a one day trip out of it and stayed at the hotel. Before checking in at the Harrison Resort, we made the trip to the very anticipated cafe. This time I prepared a game plan because on the last visit, we had breakfast as well as a slice of pie each and we  felt full until 8:00pm. And by the time we were hungry, every restaurant was closed and we had to drive out to Agassiz for Dominos Pizza! Not this time though. I carefully planned our eating schedule so we could have dinner at a proper time LOL. Meaning, pass on the pies and grab some the next day after we check out.

The restaurant is a small family owned pop and ma joint with less than ten available tables. Walking in, the vibe was much more different than our previous visits. Rather than the last visits which were filled with tourists and a friendly teenager and as well as an older lady working at the front of the house, the restaurant was operated by the owners and had a few local regulars. The vibe turned out to be more like we were intruding LOL.

HOME TOWN BURGER AND WEST COAST BAGEL.

Kaya Japanese Restaurant

After trying a few Japanese restaurants based on high recommendations such as Sushi by Yuji, Kishimoto and Tokyo Thyme, I decided to spend a couple of hours going through forty (literally) restaurants on Urbanspoon. Looking through almost every photo and judging the presentation as well as knife skill (which is not necessarily the best way but it helps), I finally stumbled upon a place that seemed worthy to visit! And I know my sushi pretty well.

Kaya Japanese Restaurant is located in Coquitlam on Austin Avenue and parking is limited in the area. The restaurant's interior looks simple as well as clean, and has a lighted cherry blossom tree in the middle along with paper lantern lamps hanging from the ceiling. Although the restaurant does not look very big, there are plenty of seats. The left side has half booth seating arrangements with divider walls, and there are tables in the centre as well as on the other side.

Walking in, apparently we opened the wrong door and were welcomed by a young waitress yelling angrily, "CAN YOU USE THE OTHER DOOR?" Yeah… not the friendliest welcoming considering that it was pouring rain, there was no sign posted mentioning which door to open, and that the restaurant was empty. Usually people who work in the service industry can fake friendliness, such as saying "Ohhhh sorry! You are supposed to use the other door," which actually guilt trips the customers while the staff secretly thinks "idiots". See the difference? I prefer the latter option a lot more. After being seated, the younger waitress was off work and our waitress for the night was an older lady, who was very friendly as well as attentive.

ABC HK Cafe 愛彼茜餐室

RESTAURANT CLOSED

After finishing some appointments in Richmond, BF and I were stumped on what to have for lunch. Dim sum at Sun Sui Wah was an option but considering that it was around 2:45pm and the restaurant would be closing soon, we passed. A pet peeve of mine is when the staff starts to vacuum while I am still eating and even worse, hitting the table with the vacuum! Plus, I was in the mood for a less than $40.00 lunch rather than the $70.00-$80.00 range that it would have been for dim sum, considering the amount that we always order! So, after circling around Richmond, we both agreed that the food court at Aberdeen Centre was the best choice. However, before heading to the food court, I noticed ABC HK Cafe! The alluring menu posted outside as well as the lobster dishes drew us in.

The restaurant's interior is pretty clean, spacious and has a high ceiling as well as window wrapped walls. This is the nicest Hong Kong style cafe restaurant that I have ever been to! And not going to lie, I was pretty excited and could not wait to eat. Plus, I was starving (we actually had reservations for tea but cancelled because we needed real food).

ABC HK Cafe offers plenty of choices such as a create your own noodles resembling Deer Garden's, hot plates, sandwiches, Korean stone bowls, hot pot, a la carte and of course, lobster. It took us quite a while just to figure out what we wanted because the menu was sort of all over the place, despite the colourful and easy to read font.

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta

Jimoco Cafe & Pasta, a most talked about restaurant from a friend of mine. He claims that the restaurant serves tasty pasta, is a must visit and the price is a steal! So meh, why not? I did not have any other restaurants in mind anyways. Plus, I expected the restaurant to be a bit slower on a raining evening since occasionally there is a long wait. Walking in, there was a pleasant aroma of pasta sauce which is a good sign for me. The restaurant has less than six booth seats and a few tables for four which can be arranged to accommodate larger parties.

AAA SIRLOIN STEAK WITH HERB BUTTER AND  TOMATO SAUCE FUSILLI WITH HAM, MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEA, AAA BEEF TENDERLOIN IN ONION CREAM SAUCE AND CREAM SAUCE FUSILLI, BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP, GARLIC TOASTS AND SEAFOOD STEW IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE.

West Restaurant + Bar

Cin Cin? Bacchus? Yew Seafood? Bishop? Blue Water? I want to save Cin Cin for an emergency just in case late night dinner since the restaurant is open till pretty late, and Yew Seafood has 50% off wine bottles on Mondays. So, the choice was West Restaurant. Plus, it is near my sister's place and I want to save Bacchus and Blue Water for a nicer day, when it is not raining. 

Walking in, the server walked us to our seat and was a bit more silent rather than welcoming but meh, not a big deal. The restaurant was fairly slow on a weeknight and for the couple of tables that arrived later on in the evening, everyone was dressed pretty casual. West Restaurant has a relaxing as well as a casual comfortable atmosphere and although the seating arrangements may look a bit tight, it did not affect us since the restaurant was not busy.