We decided Pizza Hut was not going to be an option for our last night dining in Xi'an. Another adoptive family who is here right now left a comment on the blog about a dumpling restaurant across the street from our hotel, so we decided to check it out. How hard could it be to cross a street, right? Well it's not exactly a street; it's a roundabout that incircles the Bell Tower. To get across it you go down into a brightly lit underground mall that loops the area. It is a bit like a labyrinth down there and easy to just keep circling around. There are escalators and stairs that go up and down to different points - the escalators only work part of the time, so we are usually lugging the boys in their strollers as if we were coolies toting sedan chairs.


Once we got to the side where the restaurant is, we had to locate it. This would have been easier if it had been dark out, because this is the sign for it when it's lit up.


Of course in the daylight, it was a bit tougher to find. Finally we saw these cooks waving to us from the 2nd floor window and figured out where we needed to go.


Inside they have this fabulous display of all the dumplings they serve.


And a giant golden dumpling.


We couldn't read the menu but managed to order a dumpling dinner for two - We figured there would be enough to share with the boys. Kai of course won't eat these, so we ordered him rice. Shen, on the other hand, eats virtually all of it! The meal was served in courses: first came some appetizer type things...


Then they brought the plain pork dumplings - these are what we call pot stickers.

They kept you stocked on these through the meal the way Mexican places keep the chip bowl full. Shen thought this was a great system.


We ordered milk for the boys, but the milk usually served here is more like a yogurt smoothie drink. It's very sweet and Shen loves it.


Kai won't drink it, so we asked for some tea for him. They brought us the tea menu. Yes a Tea Menu. I ordered the cheapest green tea on the list. This was served by a tea hostess who made sure Kai's little teapot was full the whole meal (this isn't a good idea for 4 year old with poor bladder control!)


Then the fancy dumplings started showing up. Our waitress would explain what each one was as they were served. These fancy fish shaped ones were fish!


These little green frog shaped ones were... you guessed it: FROG!


And these pretty little pigeon shaped ones... That's right, pigeon! Pigeon's not bad, actually tastes a bit like frog!


To date, this has been our most adventurous eating - we'll let you know tomorrow how it all sat with us - so far, so good!