Ordering Pasta from Santino's is so entertaining. You get to choose which pasta you want, which sauce you feel like having and what other ingredients you want in it.
I chose spaghetti with meat sauce and chicken balls. And because I'm in the mood to eat, I added bell pepper, broccolli, black olives, mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes. I have no plans to short change myself when it comes to food.
All my selection were placed in a smoking little hot pan, tossed effortlessly by the gentleman in-charged and is simmered to perfection. A little dash of parmesan cheese and it's ready for my taking!
As if a plateful of pasta is not enough, the server added breadsticks with herbs, garlic dip on the side, potato wedges and ice cold soda... all for the price of AED 36!
As always, I have to first taste my main target, to avoid competing stars. I hurriedly tucked in to my pasta and savoured each flavour. Pasta's firm, veggies weren't overcooked, the chicken compliments the meat sauce... it was perfect. I just wished I waited for the whole dish to cool down a bit... yup... burned my tongue a bit.
Burned tongue or not, I was finally convinced that I can then turn my attention to the side lines. I took a piece of bread stick and dipped it in garlic sauce. Herby-buttery bread with garlic sauce.... yum-mmy! It almost stole my pasta's thunder,,, and that's not an exaggeration.
I then took few bites of potato wedges and thought, "this isn't bad at all". It worked well with everything in my tray. Shame I wasn't able to eat it all up, pasta and bread were filling.
It only took 5 minutes for everything to be ready and I gobbled them all up in probably 15 minutes. It only means one thing. It's my kind of fast food combo,,, under price yet over delivered... it's bursting with flavours and I'm definitely going to be back.
*sadly, Santino's in Ibn Battuta Mall closed down in 2012. Hope to bump into it in other malls coz I wouldn't mind having their pasta again,,, spicy next time.
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