Santini @ Jaya One
December 9, 2008 | 4,359 viewsA week of break from blogging. And technology. OK, maybe not so much of the latter, but still regretting not bringing my notebook along … imagine trapped somewhere near KLIA for 3 whole days. Painful.
Cool-looking chairs …. bound to give that back an aching after a few shots!
You know the dreary feeling of returning to work after a long break? When your brain’s still accustomed to the carefree mornings, aka waking up and rollin’ in bed, anticipating/planning the day’s breakfast (or brunch), and treasuring every minute, every second of the day.
Without the hassle of dragging my carcass to the office and face the pc for 8 hours. Like now.
Near-zero occupancy on a Friday’s noon. Hmm ….
The complimentary house bread dipped into balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Circling around Jaya One, we were stumped on where for lunch. Service MUST be quick as I was rushing off for some ‘important‘ assignment after lunch.
Of course, our lunch on Fridays = 2.5 hours of pleasure dining. =P The perks of working with the government. (No rotten tomatoes, plz …)
Carpaccio and Rucola Salad Pizza (RM18.90)
And somehow I picked Santini, a brightly-coloured, rather chic outlet serving mostly Italian cuisine. With a lounge and bar, I’d assume people will throng this place for a drink at night. But I could be wrong, as Jaya One is practically ‘infested’ with restaurants, bars and cafes, it’ll be near impossible for an outlet to be packed to the brim. Unless it’s the over-rated (and over-crowded) Old Town White Coffee outlet, the favourite Chinese restaurant Ducking (which I’ve yet to find enough ‘kakis’ to dine with), or the perennial favourite of most coffee-junkies, Starbucks.
A slice of 8″ pizza with toppings of rucola greens, beef carpaccio, and mozzarella cheese
You see, after the damn long introduction, I’ve yet to touch on the food. Blame it on my pent-up emotions … ahem, I meant words. Ok, ok … here’s my take on the food @ Santini.
They serve a variety of pizzas and pastas, and some rather mind-boggling choices. I picked the beef carpaccio and rucola salad version, which can either come in 8″ or 12″ portions.
Half-expecting the beef to be raw and tasteless, the carpaccio was surprisingly good, slightly smoky, thinly-sliced and a tad briny in flavour. Of course, eating them with the overpowering taste of the rucola (rocket) leaves somehow tampered the sweetness of the beef, plus the strong flavour of the mozzarella cheese-flakes (not entirely melted) may put off non-cheese lovers. But not me. Fortunately, the pizza dough was good enough, with thin crust and light as pizzas should be.
Chicken … Set. (RM14.90) + Iced Lemon Tea
OK. I forgot the set of the day. It was some random chicken thigh served with mashed potatoes and mushrooms, and various vegetables. And a sourish yet appetizing tomato-based sauce. Very much alike bolognese, yet more flavourful. Most importantly, the chicken meat was tender, and went really well with the tangy sauce.
The meal was slightly above average, albeit the “sneezy” waitress (it was obvious she was down with a bad cold). Price-wise, not really cheap, yet not overly exorbitant. The lunch sets are value-for-money, for sure. And parking’s a breeze at Jaya One.
Location : SANTINI @ JAYA ONE, 3-G, Block M Jaya One, No 72A, Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel No : 603-7957 8866/36.
Here’s to a cheery week ahead ….. !!!! =P
The dip for the bread was very similar to what I have in US. I was looking for it. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Hope can find in Jusco. Thanks.
[Reply]
wow.. the whole restaurant to yourself..
now recession..maybe ppl thronging the cheaper places?
[Reply]
You’re adventurous, aren’t you? 😛
And… new camera, I assume? 🙂
[Reply]
Gd to see u bk! Yeah..Jaya one is “infested” alright.. And u sure u got no one to try-out Ducking w ya??
Fr ur desc is pizza seems gd, but felt that FRESH rucola leaves don’t match w crispy hot pizza!
[Reply]
The restaurant looks nice… And the food…. Italian food is one of my favourite food 😀
[Reply]
nice looking place
[Reply]
soo sean : can find one. depends how ‘virgin’ you want the oil to be, hence paying the price for those extra-v variety.
Joe : maybe. maybe not. recession clearly has NO effect on shopaholics, thats for sure.
jason : CANNOT GET lah !!! stil no stock yet. very kheksum lah … still using my phone.
thenomadGourmand : true, to some extent. the rawness of the vegetable may put off some. if dining in Ducking, surely needs a lot of ppl.
Selba : I was craving for pasta and pizza thru and thru last wkend! sigh …
[Reply]
This Indian lady looks modern , clean and decent , must smell very neat & nice also
[Reply]
my very very virgin oil cost me £30 a bottle =.= It is however very good (I only use it for bread and salad) and has small hints of fruitness to it.
I have to say fm the pics, the pizza actually looks good. Only thing – is the place halal? cuz the combination of carpaccio doesn’t make sense to me – i know however a classic combination of Parma ham (proscuitto), rocket and parmegianno.
[Reply]
Duckie : yeah it was quiet. too quiet in fact.
BSG : yeah this Santini is more of an Italian, sashaying her way to the hearts of many. Or as many as she initially hoped to.
genuiness : oh parma ham. I think Nero Teca in KL has them. served with melons.
not sure if this place is halal not, but SHOULD be, as the staff are mostly malays. but this outlet serves alcoholic drinks. hmmm …
[Reply]
Santini grubs looks very good and nothing would have put u off. Savouring every flavour for 2nhalf hours, you must have tucked in everything served.
[Reply]
Err Neroteca is NON Halal. The sister Nerovivo at Bkt Ceylon is.
[Reply]
yeah proscuitto and melon is a classic combination. they are still no where near the spanish iberico ham tho…
[Reply]
Jencooks : hahaha…. could’ve ordered more, but I didnt want to fell asleep while working.
Tummythoz : oh … got sister one ah?!
genuiness : the BLACK pig? it’s elusive to me. you’re lucky to be able to enjoy so much good food over in UK. 🙂
[Reply]
J2KFM : If you opt for having Roast Duck for dinner, I recommend you to drop by Loong Foong at Taman Paramount. The duck there are more tastier and cheaper than duck king.
From the comments above, u sounds like u are expecting a new camera. Which model izzit ? hehehe
[Reply]
Never eat in tis restaurant! I specifically ordered beforehand that morning & was charged a “Peking Duck” but was given a cold roasted duck skin, CURLY & SOFT not a single piece crispy. Damn! Meat so little lost in a huge plate of noodle, SERVED FIRST! I’ve to chase for the skin & the captain’s reply was “wasn’t WARM enough YET!” Since when on earth Peking Duck was served this way! Your guess is right, kena con!!! We asked if the prawns were fresh, the reply was guaranteed but the servings came in steamed stale & tasteless. The miserable bamboo fish was horrific; we’ve guests therefore shy away from making a scene. For the rest of the food your guess is as good as mine. Serve them right if they may close down sooner, as there seemed to have more “docs than patients” that weekend night and the previous disappointed visits some months back. Duck King is not like when they’re new I recommended to friends and my usual “Tong sing pan”. They don’t deserve to be forgiven, not a chance. I paid nearly RM600 for that dinner (mind you no abalone nor shark’s fins, just normal dishes)and the free roasted duck for the next visit shall expire 15DEC10. Feel like taking that free duck and stuff into the boss asshole. Whole bunch of hopeless con artists, shame to the food industry; help them close earlier.
[Reply]
[…] companies of Tai Thong Group of Restaurants, (other notable eateries include Room Eighteen, Santini Italian Restaurant, and of course; the 798 Public House & Royal China Chinese restaurant located adjacent to San […]