The Vines Seafood and Steak Restaurant

This hidden find near Novena MRT station was suggested by Lynn when I arranged for a dinner with her after visiting my Bapa in Dover Park Hospice months ago. It was surprisingly highly similar to Mariner's Corner in the deco, feel, and cuisine.

We ordered our favorite Escargots. Then we flipped through the menu, got thoroughly spoilt for choice with the mains, but settled for a Mixed Grill (which have everything), and a Oven-Roasted Pork Belly. Added the $3 plus for a set menu, and traded up the soup of the day for Lobster Bisque. These were exactly the type of order we would have placed in Mariner's Corner.

The escargots are of similar standard to Mariner's. Drowned in a garlic butter sauce with a generous sprinkling of crispy fried garlic. A touch of Tabasco completed the deliciously little morsel. These were served at the same time as the lobster bisque. Thick, rich soup full of that prawny lobster flavor, with chunks of lobster in every other mouth. And crusty garlic bread that we used not only to soak up the soup, but also the garlic butter sauce of the escargots.

Escargots

Lobster Bisque

Garlic bread

The pork belly was one of their signatures, and something I thought was special. It turned out to be 3 thick slabs of pork belly, roasted to crispiness. The skin really crackle when you bite into them, and the meat well flavored. The fatty portion does prick your conscience, so we were cutting it out. This was served on top a bed of vegetables, with caramelized onions on the side. The mixed grill is a massive platter of beef, lamb, chicken and prawn. Oh wait, is there fish in there too? I can't remember... The steak was pretty decent, the lamb had enough fats in them to make it aromatic without overpowering, the chicken and prawn normal. These were served alongside boiled vegetables that you have to turn frequently to prevent them from getting burnt on the hotplate, and a baked potato that we opened up quickly, so as to maximize the space for the sour cream, bacon bits and spring onions toppings that came soon after the platter was served.

Oven-Roasted Pork Belly

Mixed Grill

There was so much meat (and fats) that we almost couldn't finish our food. We were so so stuffed. And the set was completed with a dessert, and a coffee or tea. I liked it overall, and would have rated this as 'probably will be back'. We liked the comfortable atmosphere, and the comfort food the place provides.

In fact, I liked it enough that I actually brought my husband's family back here once. They were happy generally, especially FIL who absolutely raved over the escargots. MIL however, found the portion too huge, despite FIL's request for this as his birthday dinner location. She had ordered a spareribs, which is something that I can never ever finish, even with my appetite. But the vegetarian option here is quite limited. Only a vegetarian pasta, which the hubby said was horrible and he didn't finish. 

The manager told us the place will be closing down soon, as the entire stretch of shops had been sold en-bloc. Unfortunately MIL veto-ed the place as a celebration spot for FIL's upcoming birthday. I guess he'll never get to eat their escargots again... And this is also the reason why it's labelled probably not be back.