Halal ke?

After a whole day out with my friends, we decided to have dinner before we go back to our respective homes.

We surveyed the area for half an hour before making up our minds. Most of my friends wanted to have dinner in the only malay restaurant in the area. I insisted that the vegetarian indian restaurant is a better choice because the dishes served are cheaper and cleaner. For them, the malay restaurant is the obvious halal choice even though the kitchen located outside was visibly dirty and unruly.

"Eh, ko biar betol? Cam tak bersih je tempat ni."

"Daripada pilihan pelik ko." Lan chuckled. "Din...din... lain daripada yang lain..."

"Okay, okay, cuba perhati betul-betul. 1. Dapur dia tepi longkang. 2. Dorang simpan kuali dorang atas lantai. 3. Aku pernah makan dah kat situ. Ajinamoto banyak sangat sampai terbakar kerongkong."

"Tapi restoran tu orang melayu yang masak maka ia halal."

"Tapi takde logo halal."

Another friend broke our duo formation. "Daripada makan lauk hindu yang tak tentu halal, baik makan je tempat yang kita tahu orang Islam yang masak. Halal!"

"Halal ke?" Afiq Deen never gives up.

I'm not fussy when it comes to eating. As long as the food is clean and delicious, I'm game. To be perfectly honest, I have my own methods to determine whether or not the food I eat is haram or halal.

In urban KL, muslims take the Halal stamp for granted. It is a fact that most or more than 80% of food restaurants in KL are owned by non-muslims. Some multinational fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC are certified 100% halal but other popular western concept restaurants only have certificates for its bread but posted the Halal certificate on the counter anyway to imply that all the food in its restaurant is halal.

Restaurants that serves Dory fish got its fishes from dirty fish farms like this in Vietnam:

Some establishment feels that it is unnecessary to have the Halal stamp like gerais and roadside restaurants.

Have you been to malay stalls lately? Ever check their kitchens? It is a habit of mine to go to the toilet after eating and I notice that the toilet is always next to the kitchen. Gerai kitchens are always nearby open drains and the plates are washed on the floor. It didn't matter to me that the owner and cooks are malays because under the mentioned conditions, the gerai might as well serve pork.

I remembered Atok's self-made acronym: Ha, To, Ba. HTB in rummi.

Atok pointed out three simple things that I should consider before eating anything. It has to be Halal, Toyyiba and Barakah. For the food to be halal, it has to be within the scope of edible food in Islam and slaughtered by muslims. Toyyiba means Good. The food has to be good for you and your body. Barakah is how the food brings blessings to everyone.

(This is rich, coming from a guy who have eaten snakes, crocodiles, frogs, pork and maggots.)