HALAL FOOD IN JAPAN?

The Malaysian prime minister continues to make empty pontifications...

Stop playing up racial issues... he thundered...

This, coming from the leader of the biggest race-based, demagogue-supreme, kris-waving political party in Malaysia...

When is this idiocy going to end?

Closer to where I live now, I am reminded of how far our Malay Malaysian siblings are from reality...

Was invited to meet up with 23 Malaysians who are on a study tour to Japan...

(Of the 23 Malaysians, 22 are Malays and one is Chinese... so what are we talking about here?)

Seventeen of them are kids with ages from 12 to 16...

Five are adults (the chaperons?)... all Malay ladies, middle aged... but none of them, school teachers...

A couple of days before their arrival, I met a good Japanese family friend...

She was requested by Kagawa prefecture (which is hosting the group) to be a host family for one of the kids...

Said she... the list of don'ts is simply too long...

Don't cook this, don't feed them that... don't bring them there and don't let them do this... etc...

She wanted to refuse but was persuaded into agreeing...

We talked about the chomiryo, the seasonings in Japanese food...

Such as mirin which consist of sake and sugar...

Soy sauce in Japan contains some traces of sake...

You can suspect that miso has a tinge of that spirit too...

She plans not to say much about what is in the food she cooks, and she will just allow the Malaysian kid to eat quietly...

In other words, let the poor kid eat non-halal food...

She added that her son, upon hearing such nonsense, wowed to chew on a pork rib in front of the innocent kid...

Yesterday evening, I met up with the group...

We immediately headed towards the most popular shopping arcade where there are loads of restaurants...

I said to Mr. M, the Japanese official in charge...

There is nothing there that they can or should be eating...

Shikata ga nai desu ne... (but there is no other way...), he murmured softly...

So it goes...

There were three Malay students studying at Kagawa who came along to assist in guiding the troupe...

A Malay lady chaperon asked me...

Mana tu halal food?

Before I could answer, a Malay student guide chipped in...

Oh, we just go to Ootoyo (a restaurant serving mainly 'homemade' Japanese dishes)

Satisfied that all was in place, Mr. M and I joined another group that was already eating in a nearby restaurant serving 'natural foods'...

Now, there's ham slices in the spinach dish... the succulent looking fried chicken is a no-no... the boiled pork is completely out... and god knows what is in the fried rice...

As I took my seat at the table next to the group of Malaysians, I can't help noticing that they were deep into relishing the asari (clams)...

I later pointed to Mr. M...

Asari no saka mushi desu... (Clams steamed in sake...)

Oh no... he muttered... Sensei, please don't tell them ya...

After our meal, I learnt that the group that went to Ootoyo restaurant dined on stuff like kaki furai (deep fried oysters) and saba no shioyaki (baked salted mackerel)...

Mr. M again... some shops use lard to deep fry the oysters... and the cooks use the same oil to deep fry the pork fritters or chicken...

The mackerel is 'safer' in that, there could only be some soy sauce with a little bit of sake in there...

Still, we are talking about pots and crockery stained with 'unholy' meat...

So, no cigar...

Sometimes I feel sorry for these folks...

Why go to such an extent?

Unpalatable meats are freely available and consumed in Japan...

Worse, Japan is practically a nation flooded with sake...

So, don't fool yourselves unless you can find a Muslim restaurant somewhere here...

While in Japan, eat at your own risks, my dear friends...