SINGAPORE — Ask the who’s who of the art world and they’ll probably sing praises about the National Gallery’s stellar collection of South-east Asian art. Ask the foodies, however, and they’ll wax lyrical about its spectacular location that provides fabulous views of the historical Civic District among which to eat and drink.

Take Aura Sky Lounge on its sixth-storey rooftop, easily the most popular of the Gallery’s F&B outlets. Facing the Padang and the now iconic silhouette of Marina Bay Sands, it draws hipsters, expats, middle-aged towkays and everyone in between with an impressive salad bar at lunch, hi-tea in the afternoons, and all-day brunches on weekends.

Naturally, the evenings are when it all becomes optimally Instagrammable — which means it is also the best time to come here and kick back on Aura’s wood-panelled veranda with an icy libation.

For a proper dinner though, the sumptuous charms of Aura Restaurant, located just one floor below, are hard to resist. The dining room is alluringly lined with marble and pimped out with gilded lamps and contemporary wicker chairs.

To match the tasteful, new-money aesthetics of the dining room, otherwise simple dishes are tricked out with premium ingredients. There is scallop crudo spiked with truffles and smoked quail eggs (S$28) on the menu, alongside a serving of spaghetti with crab and porcini (S$28), and grass-fed sirloin with a bone marrow salad (S$45).

The night we visited, there was a sea urchin pasta (S$50) on the list of specials, smothered in a rich and deviously buttery sauce that was tipping the edge of being over-salted.

That said, Aura does pasta splendidly. Both our sea urchin pasta and the crab and porcini spaghetti boasted noodles that had a lovely bite. In the case of the latter, the sauce — sweet with fresh crabmeat and kissed with the earthy depth of mushrooms — was creamy without being too rich.

The fat hunk of pork chop Milanese (S$42) made the traditional veal Milanese, with its thin, hammered down slices of veal, seem positively plebeian. Cloaked in layer of breadcrumbs and fried to a satisfying crisp, it was cooked perfectly. So too was the silky potato puree and nutty Brussels sprouts that made fantastic accompaniments to the meat.

Aura’s menu may be compact, but the wine list practically runs over, with more than 500 labels of vino of both Italian and French persuasions. Much of it is displayed in the impressive bar that sprawls across one side of the restaurant. All that hardware, however, makes for a cacophonous dining room. Which brings me to the only flaw of our meal here: The acoustics. When the restaurant fills up, which it often does, quiet conversation becomes virtually impossible.

NOTE: Get your conversations out of the way at the Sky Lounge before heading to the restaurant for dinner. Not surprisingly, the lounge is often booked up for private events, so call ahead to avoid disappointment. ANNETTE TAN

Aura

Where:

#05-03 & #06-02 National Gallery Singapore 1 St Andrews Road

Telephone:

6866 1977

Opening hours:

Daily noon to 2.30pm, 6.30 to 10.30pm (Aura Restaurant); 11.30am to 1am (Aura Sky Lounge)

Click to eat

For more delish deals and news on what’s hot on the scene, download the 8 Days Eat App at

http://www16.mediacorp.sg/8days/8daysapp2.html