Friday, February 25, 2011

Santouka Ramen - Ramen Review

NICI Rob Raccoon present to you - Santouka Ramen review. As you probably know, we love Japanese ramen and we have tried a lot of famous ramen shops in Singapore before we started this blog. Santouka Ramen is the only noodle joint that we keep coming back in all these years. Direct translation of the name Santouka = "Mountain Head Fire", we know that was totally unnecessary so let's head on with the pictures!

This is half a plate of Tokusen Toroniku (specially selected pork cheeks) given to us free due to the promotion they are having. We will explain more about this heavenly delicacy in the later part.

As usual, we ordered a Tamago (Egg) to go with our ramen. To be honest the egg yolk is still a little overcooked, at least not up to our standard. We will cook our own and write up a recipe on it one day!

Waiting for the main dish to come..

Our Tokusen Toroniku Shio Ramen has arrived! This is Santouka's signature ramen. You are supposed to soak the whole plate of meat, black fungus, bamboo shoots and leeks into the soup together with the noodles. The Tokusen Toroniku meat is quite salty but some of the taste will seep into the Tonkotsu (Pork Bone Broth) giving the soup some extra flavour. And the leeks! They are so important, we love leeks!

The red plum I believe is for you to clear the taste in your mouth. Gives you a refreshing feel which works like a lemon or lime in case you get too tired of the strong flavored noodle.

Rob Raccoon looks eagerly at the mouthwatering bowl Shio Ramen. But wait, we have to take more pictures before we start digging in!

The Tokusen Toroniku - Specially selected pork meat is very unique as there is only probably less than 200 grams of this "pork cheek" meat found on each pig. Each piece of meat has their equal share of fats, so when you bite into it, there is a gelatinous feel which is similar to a well cooked braised pork knuckles.

This Tonkotsu (pork bone broth) is why Santouka is our favorite ramen joint in Singapore. The broth is rich, creamy and full of flavor, sublime is the only word I could utter. Santouka claims that the secret is having pork bone simmered over a long period of time and then adding vegetables, dried fish and kelp. We did mention in another post that Ippudo's akamaru broth is a close second but every time we go back to Santouka Ramen, it's greatness overwhelms our taste bud so much it makes every other ramen broth blast into oblivion.

The ramen noodle itself is not the best we have tasted though. We'd prefer it to be more springy like the one we had at Miharu, but this is a shortcoming that can be overlooked for the heavenly broth and meat.

Look at this piece of treasure we have found! Show you the other side below..

50% fats, 50% meat..the best ratio for a scrumptious piece of meat. Calories are on leave today, so don't worry!

Let us show you the menu so you know what to order. The broth comes in 3 choices, Shio (salt) Shoyu (soy sauce) and Miso (fermented soy beans). Shio (salt) is the signature ramen of Santouka and our favorite as it explicitly delivers the original taste of the pork bone broth. Miso is our second favorite and Shoyu is less desirable, they both mask the original taste of the broth. Your mileage may vary though, so order all 3 of them to try if you are there for the first time (like what we did a few years ago) . The cost is definitely pricier than any other ramen but it is well worth the money.

Santouka Ramen currently ranks top of the mountain for us. We have been constantly searching for something to challenge it's throne but all have come and all have fallen.

Rob Raccoon's Rating for Santouka Ramen: 

Ramen Santouka (The Central)
Address: 6 Eu Tong Sen Street #02-76 The Central Singapore
Tel: +65 6224 0668
Opening Hours
Daily: 11.00am – 9.30pm

Ramen Santouka (Cuppage Terrace)
Address: 21 Cuppage Road Cuppage Terrace Singapore
Tel: +65 6235 1059
Opening Hours
Mon–Fri: 12pm–3pm, 5.30pm–12am
Sat: 12pm–12am
Sun & PH: 12pm–9.30pm

Monday, February 21, 2011

Blockbuster Movies Premier ( part 1 )


Nici-Mania proudly presents the premier of Nici toys Blockbuster Movies 2011 :

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First off, our all time favourite action hero - "Indiana Jones"
Starring Jolly Sheebo in - "Adventure of the Sheep in Disguise"


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Next up, from the producer of "Crimson Tide" and "The Rock"..
Starring Jolly Ben, Jolly Sven and Jolly Jomo, here comes "Con Air"


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Oscar winning and the highly acclaimed - "Godfather"
Starring 'Don' Hugo Wolf, his son Hugo Wolf Jr and Jolly Rosa

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The final instalment of the widely popular series - "Hairy Potter"
Starring the 3 hairy plush - NICI Lion, NICI Zebra and Rob Raccoon.

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Last but not least, the much awaited Star Wars sequel -

"Attack of the Plush"


Stay tuned to find out about the brand new season of television drama series brought to you by Nici-Mania!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

NICI Minily Edward Found His Way Home

From this white paper bag, NICI Minily Edward is born! He is a cute horse with a humongous head befitted on a tiny body. We are extremely thankful to the owner of NICI-Wildfriends who flew him over 550 miles to meet his new loving owner =)

Edward pops out of the bag looking around pondering where is he now.

Alright Edward, let's bring you home shall we?

You can come out now, we are home!

Edward pops his huge bubbly head out of the bag and other NICI Wild Friends gather around with curious eyes to see the newest family member.

Edward, look who's there in front of you!

It's Minily Croco, the two buddies from NICI Minily series meet for the first time!

NICI Zebra :"Hi Edward, I'm your senior. I'm not exactly a horse but we're from the same Equidae family. Let me teach you how to be a cute horse in this family"

Minily Edward :"Thanks but I think I am already cuter than you"

NICI Zebra -_-"
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What do you think?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Lion Dance - 15th Day of Chinese New Year

Today is the 15th and also the last day of Chinese New Year. According to tradition, people will light up lots of beautiful lanterns, have a sumptuous meal with their family, or go out in the night for moon gazing as the moon is at it's fullest tonight. For us, we finally got some pictures of Lion Dance which happened a few hours earlier! Let's follow our Jack Husky through the pictures~

Lion Dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business. It is just getting started and people are starting to crowd over.

The deafening sound of the drums starts to thump your heart.

There's a plate of lettuce, red envelop and some mandarin oranges which has auspicious meaning to it but it is supposed to be hung up high instead of on the floor.

The lion slowly approaches..

and sits right on top of it.

Then the other lion joins..

Jack Husky :"Hey, why did the lion spit out the lettuce on the floor?"
Little blonde boy :"Can I go touch their head?"
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and their conversation ended in silence

Now the lion is 'spitting' the mandarin oranges to the audience.

They are waiting for the finale..

and it ends with a loud bang from the huge party popper.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I Know What You Did Last Valentine's

Frederic Fox: "Let's see what our NICI plush toys did for Valentine's Day..hehe"
Rob Raccoon: "Paparazzi Duo ready for the show. It rhymed" :D

"Some romantic guy gave flowers to his girlfriend" ♥♥

"Some couples ate a LOT of deserts!" ♥♥
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"While some others................"

- The Story -

Hugo Wolf : "Rosa! I want to give you my LOVE ♥♥"

Jolly Rosa : "Idiot, it's too big..I cannot put inside my pocket >_<"

Another Hugo Wolf appeared out of nowhere: "Rosa my darling~ Will you accept my love? ♥♥"

Jolly Rosa : "Ah, GOOD! Size just nice..hehe can fit in my pocket nicely"
"Let's go on a date!"

- The End -

"Oh well, some others got heartbroken"

Frederic Fox : "Hey Rob, both of us are single, what do you suggest we do?"

Rob Raccoon : "We can celebrate with other NICI friends!" ^_^

Hugo : "I am single too and Whiskey is my only best friend...sobs"