The chocolate malt powder is sold in more than 40 countries, and Australian cafe owners say there’s ‘jingoistic pride’ in serving it on their menus
When I order the jumbo-sized Milo Godzilla at Ho Jiak in Sydney’s Haymarket, it arrives as advertised – it’s comically large. The Malaysian restaurant prepares the drink by swirling Milo powder with hot water, adding sweet drizzles of condensed milk then chilling the mix with ice. Scoops of ice-cream are added and extra choc-malt powder is showered on top. Served in a one-litre jug, it’s so big I can’t finish it solo: staff hand me three takeaway cups to transport the leftovers.
Like many beloved Milo drinks, the Godzilla is native to south-east Asia. Without ice-cream, it’s essentially a Milo Dinosaur: an iced Milo heavily sprinkled with more of the choc-malt grains and served everywhere from Malaysian market stalls to Indian-Muslim restaurants in Singapore.