yang halal.

Hmmph.

I brought home some work because I left the office earlier than normal.

But now I can't open any of the files and have tried multiple ways to open it to no avail. I'm really disappointed (or more like scared like crazy) because I really wanted to finish that piece of work off before April comes. What's up with April yo?

Hehehe. *Secret* Hehehe.

Anyways, a few weekends back, when I went back to TTDI, we decided to have a mini celebration for Adik's birthday.

She turned 17 on March 14. Oh, how time flies, don't you think?! I would do everything NOT to go back to 17 - my least favourite age so far.

Nonetheless, Adik seems to be enjoying being 17 (despite the many weird things happening so far) and taking it all in a stride so we decided to eat out and just chill together as a family.

Now, finding a place to chill was a (huge) challenge.

I used to feel so... safe eating in Malaysia. As opposed to countries like Singapore and even Australia (UK not in the list because halal food is abundant), Malaysia boasts a variety of food - both from halal and non-halal sources.

The problem now is that since we're in Malaysia, we seem to think that so long as they don't sell pork, the food is surely certified halal.

Now, that's according to us. According to my parents, anything NOT certified halal by JAKIM is NOT HALAL. Uhuh.

So, we (my husband not excluded) spent almost an hour checking on the eateries we usually go to so that we would be able to convince my parents that the food at the place we will be eating at tidak diragui status halalnya.

And that also means that we weren't allowed to choose restaurants which serves alcohol. Slash Chillis and TGIF out of the list now.

It was a lil' bit disappointing. On our own, we would have chosen Delicious without a second thought. But after much research, I found this in another fellow blogger's entry.

Friends, from my curiosity , i sent an email to Delicious Restaurant to verify their HALAL status. Unfortunately, the source of meat &; chicken are not all from HALAL source. Its only Pork Free. Astagfirullahalazim...erm..dah byk kali dah pergi..Thank You Allah for triggering the doubt feeling. Please read the reply at the next status--


Thanks for your email. At Delicious, we are 100% pork free; our chicken/duck is sourced locally and is therefore halal. Our beef and lamb, however, is sourced from
Australia, NZ and the US and not all of them have halal certification. That's why we at pork free status. At Delicious, only one dish has a...little alcohol in it - Miso Cod Salad. It's in the mirin we add. That's all.

Source.

Hmmmm. How did I respond to this? I was HEARTBROKEN.

Delicious is (or is it now was?*cry*) our favourite and the one and only Official Brunch Place. And by OURS, I mean the Kesayangans. We've been convening there for as long as I can remember. We went there from the time we finished Law School, celebrated birthdays, we went there to break happy news, had impromtu get togethers and to camwhore like we owned the place.

I don't know now how I should respond to my new found knowledge that some of the food there isn't halal. I don't know whether I should continue going or whether I should be selective about what I order the next time I go. I just don't know.

Anyways, for Adik's birthday, we decided on Manhattan Fish Market at Ikano. I dreaded going there and was almost dragging my feet. But surprisingly, the quality of food there has improved IMMENSELY! I was pleasantly surprised.

Photos from our mini family outing -

Anyways, if you would like to check the halal status of a restaurant, supplier or foodstuff that you are planning/have been buying, you can visit the Halal Website. I really hope that our favourite eateries get their halal certification soon so that we would be able to eat at those places with a clear conscience.


p.s. I don't know why I didn't take any photos of the food we ordered. Too hungry perhaps, hehehe.

//UPDATED:

I was so curious that I emailed them myself.

Message: Hello there!

I have been going to Delicious for a while now and of late, people have been
questioning the Halal status of the food served at Delicious.

This worries me alot as I am a frequent visitor and I am wondering whether
the food you are serving is halal or not.

Care to clarify on this matter?

Many thanks in advance,

This reply is somewhat different, but can I be happy now and go in the shop with a clear conscience?

Dear Hanisa,

Thank you for your email.

I am pleased to inform you that all the meats served in all of our Delicious
outlets are from halal certified suppliers by JAKIM.

As we sell alcoholic beverages in our outlets, we are not JAKIM halal
certified but you can be assured that our food served is all halal
certified.

I hope this answers all your concerns about our halal status.

Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you should have further
queries.

Best regards,

Samantha Sam
Manager - Marketing and PR

I hope so :)

Shy to comment? Well, never mind! Your reactions mean the world to me! Make me smile today :)