Last night we ate at a restaurant at the Hanshin Mall. It's the mall closest to us, about 30 minutes walk away. It's just close enough to get some nice exercise when you just don't want to hop on the bikes one more time, but far enough away to feel like you deserve an ice cream. The restaurant where we ate, Din Tai Fung, is a small chain that specializes in dumplings. If you're a fan of Anthony Bourdain, he has an episode of  "The Layover" where he visits Taipei and he eats at the original Din Tai Fung. He calls the dumplings little pillows of heaven and I would not disagree.

Dinner was followed by trip up five escalators to Cold Stone Creamery. We were dining with a six year old and you really can't say no to those big brown puppy dog eyes. It's possible the adults also wanted ice cream and oreos.

We had take-out noodle soup for dinner tonight after yoga, which means four meals out in the last six days. It's not our usual trend but the refrigerator is freezing everything so it's frustrating trying to throw together dinner when the lettuce is mushy and the raw eggs are solid. That's really just my excuse for being lazy but we're both feeling exhausted from work and just lack the energy to cook at the end of day. We are really, really looking forward to next Thursday when we fly across the island for a well-deserved break.