Milli at National Gallery offers elevated hawker fare with a rooftop view

NEW RESTAURANT

Milli Sky Dining, Bar & Lounge #05-02, #06-01 National Gallery Singapore 1 St Andrews Road Singapore 178957 Reservations at millisingapore.com Open daily from 11 am to 1 am (up to 3 am Wed to Fri and 4 am on Sat and eve of public holidays)

[SINGAPORE] With the current heatwave in Europe making even mad dogs and Englishmen change their minds about the midday sun, it’s strange to say that Singapore feels pleasantly balmy by comparison. 

Or maybe that’s what everyone scrambling for the alfresco tables at Milli wants to believe. So much so, the restaurant’s team tells us that people even get mad when they’re told they have to sit inside in air-conditioned comfort.

Not us. Our perspiration-averse selves would rather camp inside and shiver beside blasting air-con vents than sweat it out in the open for the bird’s-eye view of the Padang and Marina Bay Sands. It’s an excellent view, we have to say. So excellent that it makes the thought of missing this year’s National Day fireworks, now that they’re moving to Kallang Basin, even more bitter.

But the folks behind National Gallery’s latest rooftop opening needn’t worry about any pyrotechnic-related loss of revenue. Milli is packed every evening, including the Monday we’re there.

Spanning the fifth and sixth floors, Milli’s is an equal-opportunity destination that feeds you and plies you with booze from lunch to near dawn. It’s signed on two home-grown names to pull it off.

One is Native co-founder Vijay Mudaliar, who dreams up offbeat cocktails like a liquid Singapore breakfast – coffee liqueur, kaya, cognac and soy sauce – or whiskey with matcha foam. The other is Labyrinth’s Han Li Guang, who lets his Singapore boy loose to reimagine prata, chicken rice and oyster omelette in his signature local-meets-French-technique style.

While those outside have the skyline to look at during dinner, we have dim lights, loud hip-hop music and even louder dining neighbours who can’t hear each other. But we’re strangely not bothered as we’re occupied with a pair of impossibly large boneless har cheong chicken wings (S$16) from a bird that must powerlift its mate every morning.

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It’s the Har Har chicken (Han’s now-defunct fast food chain) of our dreams – crackling crust and prawn paste-infused hunky flesh, and a thoughtfully grilled calamansi lime to squeeze over. It doesn’t really need the strong belacan dip with its ketchupy consistency.

Han’s food is well-executed but heavy in general, either because he’s afraid you’ll go hungry, or you need ample protection against all that alcohol. Still, there are fairly light options – a kingfish ceviche (S$38) with yusheng aspirations, but it doesn’t need the festive connection.

It’s perky enough to stand on its own as Asian-inspired sashimi in a (maybe too) sweet dragonfruit sauce laced with sesame oil and showered with deep-fried threads of ginger. 

Han’s signature chilli crab ice cream gets a new identity as a zuwaigani salad (S$32) – a spicy layer of cold mousse hidden under a layer of shredded snow crab, with cherry tomatoes and a perimeter of sweet sliced strawberries. It’s a nostalgic treat, even if it’s fussier and more demure than it needs to be.

But the Singapore boy sure knows his oyster omelette (S$42) – and he’s captured that distinctive orh luak aroma and funkiness in this inspired riff, which has a fluffy egg white souffle housing a runny yolk under a thick blanket of crispy deep-fried egg floss, and three large Hyogo oysters that have been briefly charred. The umami is with this one.

That said, Han kills you with kindness in his chicken rice paella (S$18 for half chicken) – different types of rice cooked in rich broth so it’s chewy with generous bits of crispy socarrat, nestled under roast spring chicken, along with savoury pearls of rendered chicken fat. It’s hearty and well-intentioned. Best eaten on an empty stomach.

Our fault for demolishing a three-cheese truffle prata (S$21) before the chicken. This prata with Italian stepparents is stuffed with melty mozzarella, drizzled with honey and topped with earthy black truffle slices and funky cheese sprinkles – all the ingredients for a happy snack.

Desserts are more a threat than promise. Blame the loosely described bandung ice kacang (S$24) – a ball of shaved ice that went to kakigori college and was severely hazed. This frosty mountain has hints of bandung but hardly any milk, raspberry sorbet and sake lees, topped with browned meringue. Maybe stop at the sweet-savoury prata instead.

Slightly better are crisp, aerated waffles (S$24) sandwiched with purple yam and pistachio ice cream – with kaya, peanut butter and Nutella on the side for unnecessary measure.

Milli more than serves its purpose with accessible food, fun cocktails and an unmatched view. So just hang out, dig in and yes, savour Singapore’s newly defined balmy weather.

Rating: 6.5