Assalamualaikum,
Living in Singapore with many selections and varities of food, finding the tastiest, the cheapest and the most convenient is not as simple as finding a HALAL one. Trust me, from personal experience seeing many of our Muslim friends/relatives eating non-halal food makes you wonder WHY these people are willing to gobble down non-halal/ uncertain status of the food that they eat. Places with obvious pork menu e.g. Carl's Junior, Olio Dome to name a few, you can still see many "Muslims" or malays (in this so called modern society it does not mean that you are a Muslim eventhough you are malay here in Singapore) dine in those places.
The most obvious misconception is that seeing Muslim selling the food, it definitely makes you think it's HALAL ...... surprise, surprise, it's NOT !!!!!! Isn't that supposed to be the most simple way of telling you if the food is halal??
I had such experience whilst in Sydney airport. Muslim Pakistani teens working for a fast food joint, wearing hijabs looking very enthusiastic behind the counter. As the joint is not one of the popular known fast food e.g. McDonald's, Hungry Jack's or KFC, which are NOT halal there, so seeing those teens, you would be thinking, HEY THIS FAST FOOD IS HALAL !!! But WAIT !!!!!! ..... As I was queueing, scanning thru the long list of menu on the wall........ they're selling BACON !!! ....staring blankly and asking myself, hey prob it's not pork bacon !!! .... I felt sooo stupid for a second cos BACON is pork ... dduuhhhh ..... Hey maybe I was wrong, next was my turn, I asked the Paki gal, is bacon HALAL ??!!!! ....... she looked blankly at me and said there is NO halal bacon ... its PORK sweetheart. Masha-Allah ... I asked her again, then what did the Arab lady who was before me bought ?? She puts on hijab so obviously she is Muslim. So I asked the gal again if I am the only one who had asked her about the halal status of the food they're selling !!! eerrr....she just stared at me blankly, again ..... She told me Muslim can take the fish burger meal, which consists of the fish burger, fries and drink BUT I was also told that the fries are not halal as it's fried in lard. So she gonna switch it to a coleslaw for me. After paying, I sat and look at the Arab lady who now sits next to me, just checking if she bought anything else besides the fish burger meal. Looking at my pathetically looking burger, I decided to just make do with the drink. See? It's safer to ask than assume the food is Halal eventhough the staff are wearing hijab.
That's Sydney, it's not as easy as getting Halal food back home. But HELLOoooo, the similar thing happened to me here at home, OK !! I believe many have heard of Botak Jones ... the owner, an ang-moh is married to a Malay lady, so here again you would guess that the food is halal. It's the best looking American burger serving served in the heartlands. The same thing, I asked a senior staff there if the food is halal, but was told that the sausages were NOT, as the skin is made of pork bellies!!! .... hey that was when they were in Tuas. Now its found in Ang Mo Kio and I heard Bedok. Who knows it's probably halal already BUT remember to just ask if the food is halal. Many of the staff are malays, another confusing issue here for many like us. No harm asking !!! Don't eat if you are still not certain. There are many muslim who may work in non-halal certified food places but when you asked them about the halal thingy, they are sure to give you an honest reply. So open your mouth to ask OK!!!
Well, not all muslim eating places may be Halal certified by MUIS eventhough the stall ownders are muslim. Muslims must always ensure that food is Halal for consumption. So we have to exercise caution and discretion when patronising eating establishments.
Alright, another reason why I have this blog is ..... to just compile the best halal/muslim eating places and make it as a future quick reference for myself and my hubby. At times we do forget the nice little places that we've been to. We both are food lovers and we eat out most weekends (against his preference, of cos). We both really appreciate great food even if its from at a little corner or secluded places and it's not necessarily have to be plush or luxurious.
Wassalam,
MaKan Halal
