King no more.

Just when I thought I should hit the sack, that's when I start to remember that I need to say a thing or two about something or two.

Last Friday, although I knew that our office would be having the Hari Raya open house, I went out for lunch with a colleague nonetheless. Perhaps that's because last year's Hari Raya experience was quite a disappointment. Boy, we were wrong about this year's open house alright.

Anyway, back to our lunch hour.

Since we knew that we were going to join the Office Raya Do later that afternoon, we were wary that we would only be able to eat at around 3 p.m. We weren't exactly elated about the idea of starving ourselves for 3 hours. But at the same time, we didn't want to stuff ourselves either. So we decided on getting a bite at Sushi King.

I'm a big fan of the Soft Shell Crab Temaki. Seriously, this is one of the must-order items when I go there. Thing is, I don't think I will be going back there ever. Not just the one in Alamanda no, but Sushi King generally.

As we arrived and took our seats, the waitress handed us our menus. Since we couldn't really decide on what to eat yet (apart from the must have, which I did not order yet at that point), we asked for green tea first.

Then, the food came round via the revolving belt and my colleague grabbed one of her favourites; unagi. I was just about to take one of the deep fried food off the belt when our drinks arrived.

Then, came the big shock of our lives.

The waitress informed us that 80% of the food at Sushi King is not halal, including the unagi which was sitting there in front of us, tempting us to take a bite. We were informed that most of the food uses cooking wine and that even the yummy soyu has sake in it.

I was dumbstruck for a while. Okay, no. I was dumbstruck. Period. For a long time. As we sipped our tea, we saw more Malays strolling in, taking their seats, unsuspecting what they were about to put into their systems.

We sat for a while more and observed the rest of the (Malay) patrons there. It looked like the waitress did not warn them, but she actually did. Because when she passed by our table, we overheard her telling her boss that she had done so, but they ignored her warnings.

We picked up our bags and went to the counter. Of course we didn't have to pay anything since green tea is free flow and on the house.

The waitress thanked US for listening.

We really got the shock of our lives. Now that I have passed this on, be wary about what you eat.

My parents are not very adventurous eaters and I think sometimes, they get mocked by (even)their family for being so boring. Well, I used to think the same as well.

But then, the older I get, the more I am able to see reason. I get it why they are so healthy and why WE are so healthy, Alhamdulillah. Being believers in self-healing, my parents always turn back to nature. And for them, it is only natural that the body succumbs to illnesses and the like when we consume foodstuff where the status of it is ambiguous.

So, now that I have managed to pass this on, it is up to you to pay heed or not. At least I have done my part, InsyaAllah. I am deathly afraid of what becomes my darah daging. If it doesn't affect us now, perhaps it would affect our generations to come, right?

So, let's be more cautious about what we put into our mouths. I'm probably going to write in to a few other restaurants, just to check their status.

If most of my favourites cannot be eaten, I guess I'll just have to make do with whatever I can, right? After all, it's not that I can't cook. Moreso now ;)