Pastificio Momenti For Italian Made Fresh Pastas

Pastificio Momenti is a casual Italian restaurant dedicated to offering fresh pastas made daily. High quality pastas for under ¥100 right here!

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About Pastificio Momenti

Pastificio Momenti is an Italian restaurant in Shanghai that specializes in fresh made pastas. Photo @ Nomfluence

The Momenti brand has been around for some time, but it recently rebranded into “Pastificio Moménti” to refocus on fresh pastas about a year ago. To execute their new vision, they strengthened their team, bringing on Milanese chef Giacomo Spreti for Italian cuisine expertise and F&B veteran Valerio Laudani as operations and brand manager for tip-top hospitality.

In addition, they imported some heavy-duty equipment to ensure that all pastas served are not only made fresh but are also consistent and with variety. As for the ingredients, pastas are made with imported Italian flour, specifically high-quality “00” wheat and fresh eggs, which gives pasta like the pappardelle and tagliatelle its signature silky texture.

Their formula harkens back to all those times every Italian grew up rolling pasta with their grandmas in the kitchen. It’s artisanal and homey, though machine assisted for restaurant quality consistency, and aims to evoke a nostalgic experience where hand-made pasta is the center of a family affair. The result? Quality pasta (and plenty of other dishes) for under ¥100.

There are two locations of Pastificio Momenti: Hong Shou Fang and Shanghai Village next to Disney.

The Hong Shou Fang location presents a refined trattoria ambiance, complete with terracotta tiles, greenery, and elegant lighting. Italian iconography adds color to the walls, celebrating the art of pasta making, famous cities, and aperitivo culture.

Again, to emphasize their fresh made pastas, the pasta room is built into the central column, a glass room for all to see.

This location also boasts a spacious terrace with plenty of outdoor seating, shaded under a canopy. The venue is also dog-friendly.

The Food: Fresh Pasta & Italian Classics

The menu features a variety of pasta types, including spaghetti, ravioli, casarecce, pappardelle, rigatoni, and tagliatelle, among others. Some pastas are also made to share, as the menu also has other Italian favorites like burrata salad, eggplant parmigiana, and a fantastic roasted lamb shank.

New entries for the season include the Tubetti al Cacciucco, small ridged tubed pasta in a cacciucco inspired sauce. (Cacciucco is a thick seafood stew from Livorno.)

This version captures the essence of cacciucco by using the key ingredient, cuttlefish, cooking it down until tender and dicing it before combining it with seafood stock, tomato sauce, fat creamy mussels, and a dash of chili powder. It’s topped with creamy stracciatella and freshly grated lemon zest. It’s delicious, full of umami, and extremely satisfying.

For the coming cold season, Momenti has a baked pasta, also new. The Fusilloni Al Forno presents an oven-baked spiral pasta in a creamy chive-loaded and parmesan cream topped with crispy Culatello ham. An extra dose of parmesan cheese is grated on top for good measure.

The top bits of pasta are crunchy and chewy from being roasted in the oven, and the center is creamy and oh-so gooey. This is my favorite of all the pastas I tried. It’s comforting dish that’s also made for sharing.

Another sharing dish is the Ossobuco Ragout Ravioli, parmesan cream filled ravioli with slow-cooked veal ossobuco. This ravioli is a large variety, ones with large, silky edges. The cream filling is light bodied but packs a cheesy punch, and goes well with the tender, flavorful veal. It’s also topped with tomato gremolata, adding a prickle of acidity that balances the dish.

Of course, they do a Carbonara, too. This is also a favorite. It’s made with rigatoni, large, tubed pasta, tossed in a creamy combo of pecorino cheese and egg, topped with crunchy guanciale, extra egg yolk, and black pepper.

Another popular pasta is the Black Truffle Fettucine, coated in a creamy black truffle sauce topped with pecorino cheese.

The menu also has classic Italian starters and non-pasta mains. The Burrata is a requisite and uses a high quality never-frozen burrata imported from Italy, served atop a medley of mixed cherry tomatoes with panzanella and pickled shallots.

Other appetizers include the Vitello Tonnato, slow-cooked beef eye round topped with traditional Italian tuna sauce, capers, and grated egg yolk, and Meatballs, traditional Italian beef and pork meatballs topped with parmesan cheese and basil sauce in a tomato sauce.

A hearty main course is the Lamb Shank. I highly recommend sharing among at least three people. It’s a braised New Zealand bone-in lamb shank with roasted fennel, lemon sauce, and garlic, topped off with lamb jus. It’s fork tender and aromatic. They also have steak and roasted chicken.

For dessert, Momenti does the classics. Go for the traditional Panna Cotta topped with mixed berry sauce or the Tiramisu. The tiramisu is quite decadent with thick layers of mascarpone between lightly coffee soaked ladyfingers. They also have gelato, affogato, cannoli, and a chocolate tart.

The Drinks: Classic Italian Cocktails & Wine

For drinks, Momenti has an exclusively Italian wine selection, highlighting vins from popular wine regions in Italy. House wines by the glass are all ¥42, jugs are ¥98, and bottles ¥168. Other wines are by the bottle, also starting from ¥168.

In addition, they do some solid Italian classic cocktails, a curated selection that’s easy going and made to pair with food, and with honest prices! Cocktails start at ¥55.

I recommend the Garibaldi, an aperitivo style drink that’s made with freshly pressed orange juice and Campari. It is refreshing and light on booze — you easily knock back a couple of these with dinner. On the note of fresh juices, all of their juices, from ¥38, are made fresh.