Biscotti From The U.S Of A

Got these from Mee Fung when K came back from the States. I turned pink when I remembered the first time I had biscotti in Rome and how, I wondered aloud to K, a nation that has such fine food came up with a biscuit that is so hard and dry, the almonds although tasty compounded to the rocky texture.

I had bleeding gums and painful jaws after having just one piece. 

If only I knew then these were dunking biscuits, usually in liqueur (Vin Santo) with coffee... so sam pa lou! 

I was told  these biscotti are baked twice to make sure they are super hard! 

So here I made myself a black coffee as thick as can be (gau gau) with a dollop of this...

 
...coffee layered liqueur. Perfect day. 

I have since ran out of biscotti but with still half a bottle of this sweetness left. 

Maybe I'll do some home-baked biscotti. Anyone with a no-fail recipe for this biscuit? Like to share?

Have a lovely weekend.

Jo

Bryan's 18th @ Little Italy, Kota Kinabalu

Bryan celebrated his 18th birthday few days ago. Completely slipped my mind partly because we gave him his birthday present last week when K was home and I was too preoccupied with the planned holiday that went off-rail a little. Busy surfing the net three nights straight searching for last minute accommodation.
Anyway, remembered it much later in the day, quickly dashed to a deli and got him this as it was too late to home-bake anything (not very competent, so need at least a day and a half to make a reasonably presentable cake :D).

He chose to go to Little Italy for his birthday dinner and I half expected it as this is his favourite restaurant. As we haven't been there for quite a while, it was a welcome treat for us too.

Knowing it can get quite crowded, we were there before 7 pm. By 7:30 the restaurant was packed.

Bruschetta, a must-have. RM8.90

And a super-thin crust pizza, large. RM26

Ravioli mushroom and chicken. RM23.90

Spinach fettuccine with Sicilian sauce. RM20

A jug of ice lemon tea. RM6.90

I found the dishes a tad too salty and somehow kind of lackluster in presentation and flavours as compared to our previous visits. I just hope that this is not a norm as this is such a favourite diner for my family, also for many locals and tourists alike.

It is situated in downtown Kota Kinabalu on the ground floor of Capital Hotel, which is right across Wisma Merdeka shopping mall.

Jo