Ikea Chicken Wings

[silverfox@]

Malays and Indians do not eat pork, yet you can see many of them are obese too. If you say pork and lard is bad, so are chickens too.

A lot of Malays and Indians are fat because when was the time you heard they have steamed food? Or soup based food? Oh yea have. Mutton soup, laden with mutton fats. Soto Ayam, also laden with oil from chicken. Most of the malay food are spicy where the chilli requires lots of oil to fry if not chilli gets burnt.

It's all in their diet.

 

[jw5]

Thailand has no halal certification. They don't even enforce firearms control or licensing. Muslims and non-Muslims can shoot eat other up and down. Pork is the last of their worries. Anyway, it's eat what you want. Check first for what you cannot or don't want to eat. The same applies to Hindus not eating beef or vegans not eating any meat anywhere in the world. Why Muslim and halal must be so special to force entire restaurants to be certified and restricted?

Are you against halal certification because you think it is tough on the hawkers? Or some other reason?

Other than the possible reduction of hawkers, I think halal certification is a good thing. Not even sure whether the certification reduces number of hawkers, or it's because of the reduction in hawkers that more food outlets are getting the certification.

The food outlets want the certification because it attracts muslim customers. The muslim customers want more choices so it's good for both. I have noticed that the number of muslim hawker stalls have reduced, so this is good for the customer. For me as a consumer, I'm not affected at all, because I still have the chocie of patronizing an outlet with the certification.

What interests me is the story told by a forummer in another thread, where he recounted how he was feeding his baby chicken porridge in a halal certified restaurant. According to him, a malay muslim family having their dinner at another table objected to the restaurant staff. The forummer then proceeded to feed his baby outside.

Of course, the malay family were well within their rights. The restaurant staff and the forummer were in the wrong officially. But given a choice and a judgement, the malay family chose to object, which in my personal and perhaps uninformed opinion, I think was unnecessary.

I'm a supporter of halal certified restaurants, as it gives the muslim consumer more choices. But I wonder what our muslim forummers would do if faced with the same situation.

 

[Ramseth]

Are you against halal certification because you think it is tough on the hawkers? Or some other reason?

I'm against because having a cert means the entire establishment can serve no non-halal food. I respect Muslim rights to halal foods, but I don't think non-Muslim eateries should seek halal certification. Halal doesn't mean devoid of pork and alcohol only, both of each essential to many Chinese and western dishes. Halal rules encompass all meats. Once a Chinese or western restaurant applies for the cert, all authenticity of the original dishes are gone, subordinated to halal rules.

 

[jw5]

I'm against because having a cert means the entire establishment can serve no non-halal food. I respect Muslim rights to halal foods, but I don't think non-Muslim eateries should seek halal certification. Halal doesn't mean devoid of pork and alcohol only, both of each essential to many Chinese and western dishes. Halal rules encompass all meats. Once a Chinese or western restaurant applies for the cert, all authenticity of the original dishes are gone, subordinated to halal rules.

I'm only against it if it reduces the number of muslim hawkers. Noticed that there are less and less nasi padang stalls these days.

But if that's not the reason for the reduction in hawkers, I'm for it. The outlets want it for more sales. The muslim customers want it for more choices, and I sympathise with them because in some areas, they have very little outside eating choices other than these restaurants. These restaurants do not normally serve authentic original dishes anyway. Most authentic chinese restaurants still serve their original food for those of us who want it on certain days.

 

[king_of_abalone]

A lot of Malays and Indians are fat because when was the time you heard they have steamed food? Or soup based food? Oh yea have. Mutton soup, laden with mutton fats. Soto Ayam, also laden with oil from chicken. Most of the malay food are spicy where the chilli requires lots of oil to fry if not chilli gets burnt.

It's all in their diet.

Fox, you're making me hungry . Yum yum!

 

[Ramseth]

I'm only against it if it reduces the number of muslim hawkers. Noticed that there are less and less nasi padang stalls these days.

The reduction of neighbourhood Muslim food hawker stalls is due to the HDB racial quota to ensure Malays don't cross certain percentage in any neighbourhood. Correspondingly, since Malays only eat halal foods, the foodstalls are spread out more widely, but less in any single neighbourhood.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Are you against halal certification because you think it is tough on the hawkers? Or some other reason?

Other than the possible reduction of hawkers, I think halal certification is a good thing. Not even sure whether the certification reduces number of hawkers, or it's because of the reduction in hawkers that more food outlets are getting the certification.

The food outlets want the certification because it attracts muslim customers. The muslim customers want more choices so it's good for both. I have noticed that the number of muslim hawker stalls have reduced, so this is good for the customer. For me as a consumer, I'm not affected at all, because I still have the chocie of patronizing an outlet with the certification.

What interests me is the story told by a forummer in another thread, where he recounted how he was feeding his baby chicken porridge in a halal certified restaurant. According to him, a malay muslim family having their dinner at another table objected to the restaurant staff. The forummer then proceeded to feed his baby outside.

Of course, the malay family were well within their rights. The restaurant staff and the forummer were in the wrong officially. But given a choice and a judgement, the malay family chose to object, which in my personal and perhaps uninformed opinion, I think was unnecessary.

I'm a supporter of halal certified restaurants, as it gives the muslim consumer more choices. But I wonder what our muslim forummers would do if faced with the same situation.

I can also safely say if the opposite situation occured where a chinese family did that to a malay family it would be a great crime but of course stuff like that are allowed to be perpetuated if it's a malay family on a chinese one.

 

[silverfox@]

I'm only against it if it reduces the number of muslim hawkers. Noticed that there are less and less nasi padang stalls these days.

But if that's not the reason for the reduction in hawkers, I'm for it. The outlets want it for more sales. The muslim customers want it for more choices, and I sympathise with them because in some areas, they have very little outside eating choices other than these restaurants. These restaurants do not normally serve authentic original dishes anyway. Most authentic chinese restaurants still serve their original food for those of us who want it on certain days.

Nasi Padang stalls getting lesser and lesser because can see that not so much Chinese patronise.

It's like teochew muay stalls. Not many also. Why? Price.

Nasi Padang easily can go up to >$5. And sometimes the malays sell cheaper to their people than us Chinese.

 

[silverfox@]

The reduction of neighbourhood Muslim food hawker stalls is due to the HDB racial quota to ensure Malays don't cross certain percentage in any neighbourhood. Correspondingly, since Malays only eat halal foods, the foodstalls are spread out more widely, but less in any single neighbourhood.

When I was a young kid, once I went to hawker centre, ordered lontong using utensils from the muslim stall. My dad ordered carrot cake, I wanted to eat a piece, then I use my fork to get 1 pc, the malay stall holder came over kpkb, my dad know how to speak malay, tried to reason. In the end, my father tell me give back the lontong to the stall and also the utensils. Don't eat from that stall, because that stall owner say not halal food cannot use their utensils.

When I grew older, I think, even if I don't use their utensils, but my saliva got carrot cake taste. How?

 

[Windsor]

I used to go there after midnight for the meat ball noodles. There are two stalls but one is better than the other.

My favourite stall is at Blk 85 Bedok North hawker centre, just opposite Bedok Police Div. There are 2 stalls there. I prefer the one next to the famous porridge stall. The chilli is bestest. Stall sells satay too.

 

[Forvendet]

Nasi Padang easily can go up to >$5. And sometimes the malays sell cheaper to their people than us Chinese.

I have that feeling too, that of being overcharged at Muslim foodstalls. I seldom eat there anymore.

When I was a young kid, once I went to hawker centre, ordered lontong using utensils from the muslim stall. My dad ordered carrot cake, I wanted to eat a piece, then I use my fork to get 1 pc, the malay stall holder came over kpkb, my dad know how to speak malay, tried to reason. In the end, my father tell me give back the lontong to the stall and also the utensils. Don't eat from that stall, because that stall owner say not halal food cannot use their utensils.

In that case, they should stop serving non-Muslims, many of whom probably still have shreds of pork between their teeth when eating with their utensils.

 

[Ramseth]

I have that feeling too, that of being overcharged at Muslim foodstalls. I seldom eat there anymore.

I think that's a misconception as Muslim foods are generally already very expensive. Malays have to shut up, pay up and eat it since they can't eat Chinese foods. Chinese (and other non-Muslims) begin to suspect that Muslim stallholders overcharge them by discrimination as they compare Malay and Chinese food prices between comparable dishes.

In that case, they should stop serving non-Muslims, many of whom probably still have shreds of pork between their teeth when eating with their utensils.

In Malaysia, there's no such thing as halal stalls and Chinese stalls in the same coffeeshop. In bigger hawker centres and canteens, both sides must be divided. In centralised utensils foodcourts, all stalls must be halal.

 

[Qantas]

I would suggest that in order not to discrimate against any race or religion, joints like McDonalds should only set aside certain outlets to be halal and the others remains as non-halal. In this case, it will be a win-win situation as no one will say they cannot taste the type of food they like. Say alternate suburbs have halal and non-halal.