Bugis Street Brasserie

Bugis Street Brasserie Restaurant Review:

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel’s casual corner eatery, overlooking Pershing Square, is host to an eclectic crowd including foreign travelers as well as local office workers. All happily discover something rather unexpected in historic DTLA: Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine. This is the only stateside location of the Millennium’s UK-based chain, but modern, airy design taps into SoCal’s Pacific rim zeitgeist, and the relaxed atmosphere suits everything from lunchtime business meetings to Tiger beer with March Madness. The kitchen’s experienced staff turns out bright specialties from Singapore and Malaysia; we recommend silky coconut laksa noodle soup, a giant nasi goreng topped with fried egg, or the chewy, savory penang flat rice noodles. Quality seafood sourcing (from Biltmore vendors) also results in a light salt-and-pepper tempura squid and a fine dish of tender kung po scallops. The cooking is authentic, but not too daring. Mango mousse cake is a pleasant dessert, and drinks range from hot house saké to Yellow Label Veuve Clicquot, a luxe choice that actually goes very well with many of the selections.