Gentle Pasta PAFC Mall 黑手制面 平安金融中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Gentle Pasta (黑手制面) is an American pasta bar with a Chinese-fusion twist that’s been on my to‑do list for ages. I finally found an outpost near my hangout spots in Shenzhen this week and just couldn’t wait to try out their pasta dishes.

We arrived slightly after 5pm and not surprisingly, there were still tables available both inside and outside the restaurant.

I wasted no time scrolling through their electronic food menu and it was indeed full of enticing fusion dishes from starter to mains.

A little bit of humor. 🤣🤣🤣

Caesar salad (凱蕯沙律) (¥25) — I needed some fibre and this Caesar salad was just perfect. I don’t like salads drowning in salad dressing so this was spot on.

Pumpkin cream soup (烤南瓜堅果奶油湯) — This was included as part of the pasta set. Silky and creamy, it struck a pleasant balance of sweet and savory.

Crispy tofu with crab roes (蟹黃配酥炸雲朶豆腐) (¥38) — Very Chinese in style. The fluffy crab-roe sauce was nicely complemented by a lovely acidic counterpoint from purple onion and what I thought was ginger.

Deep fried squid (酥炸魷魚) (¥33) — Nicely executed. The accompanying aioli tasted a little like fermented black beans with a bit of spicy kick.

Genovese sea king pasta (熱那亞風騷海皇意麵) (¥66) — The first main event tonight was a new creation here. The linguini was nicely tossed in a tomato based sauce with prawns, squid and clams, finished off with shaved Parmesan and chili oil. This was pretty delicious and the extra kick added a nice touch to the dish.

French red wine braised beef ribs pasta (法式紅酒燉牛肋排意麵) (¥78) — Similarly fine texture of the linguini, this time it was topped with a disk of braised rib all drizzled in a red wine reduction. 

Same lovely texture from the linguine, topped with a braised rib. 

Comforting and rich.

We finally got to dine at one of the buzziest pasta bars in Guangzhou, and the food mostly lived up to the hype. Both the starters and pasta were very good, and I just love the wide selection of east-meets-west fusion. My only gripe: a restaurant celebrated for its fresh-made pasta should offer more than just linguine. Angel hair, lasagne, pappardelle — anyone?

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: ¥¥

Address: Shop 110, Level 1 South Tower, 5033 Yitian Road, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福田街道福安社区益田路5033号平安金融中心南塔L1层110号铺

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 13543918357

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/3d/bEdM