Santini @ Jaya One

A 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