'Mad respect for you': Ice cream boss explains why his cafe isn't halal-certified, wins netizens' approval

'Mad respect for you': Ice cream boss explains why his cafe isn't halal-certified, wins netizens' approval
PHOTO: Instagram/Heartbreakmelts, Screengrab/TikTok/Yongwei92

Heartbreak Melts has been making quite a name for itself of late.

With rave reviews aplenty, the ice cream cafe, located in Ang Mo Kio, has also been receiving queries from the general public.

A question that seems to continuously pop up, particularly from Muslim customers, is whether the cafe is halal or not.

Co-owner Goh Yong Wei took to TikTok with a reply, explaining why his ice cream parlour isn't halal-certified at this present time.

The 131-second clip was posted on Tuesday (Nov 15) and has over 207,000 views at the time of writing.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@yongwei92/video/7165777761695534337?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7135660592895346178[/embed]

"We are not halal-certified but everything is vegan and we do not have any alcoholic flavours," Yong Wei said.

He did, however, mention that Heartbreak Melts serve alcohol but the beers are separated from the ice cream display area to avoid any chance of cross-contamination. 

Yong Wei continued, explaining that not being halal certified was simply a business decision.

"For a small cafe like us, to get halal certification for a year, it will cost us $1,219."

While Heartbreak Melts could apply for halal certification in the future, it is something that isn't within the current budget, he added.

Fair enough, a question was asked and he answered it without any hassle.

Now, here's where things get a little more interesting.

Yong Wei went off on a bit of a tangent to define the term 'halal' and even provided a couple of examples.

According to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, any food or drink that falls under the halal category is permitted for Muslim consumption.

Yong Wei touched on how the objective of a particular action could help one decide if something is halal or not.

As an example, he noted that Panadol, or paracetamol for that matter, doesn't have the halal certification but Muslims generally have no qualms about consuming it.

"The medicine is there to heal your body, relieve you of your symptoms and make your body a temple of God," he said.

In the comments section, netizens seemed genuinely impressed by his knowledge on the matter.

One TikTok user appreciated how thorough Yong Wei was with his research and mentioned how his sincerity shines through.

Earlier in the month, Heartbreak Melts was under the spotlight when an 'angry' customer was seen fuming over his ice cream order.

The customer continuously yelled at one of the co-owners, requesting she taste his ice cream order.

She felt like there was nothing wrong with the ice cream. That was when the customer revealed how much he actually loves their ice cream and that this was all a prank.

ALSO READ: Sweet but not too sweet: Sugar-free cakes, ice creams and chocolates

amierul@asiaone.com

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