Would You Eat in a Clean Halal Restaurant Ran by an Arab or a Dirty Halal Restaurant Ran by a Filipino?

Trip Advisor

 

Persian Palate was my first taste of Middle Eastern, halal food (which is permissible by Muslim standards). Other Middle Eastern restaurants followed, such as Shawarma Gourmet and Eastern Hub (though I haven't gone to their site yet). Persian Palate once had a branch in Crossroads and Robinsons Downtown, but both closed. The ones that are still open are in Ayala Center Cebu and in Mango Square. These all provided quality halal food. I could even remember how I ate at Shawarma Gourmet and saw the quality of the kitchen. Just looking at Shawarma Gourmet's kitchen from the counter convinced me to return.

There are also halal restaurants in Cebu run by local Muslims. Some of them were in locations such as near Gaisano Metro Colon, and another was near Cebu Eastern College. One of them was named Mhat Am Kape, which I heard is now permanently closed according to Google Maps. I gave Zamboanga-style food (which has Malaysian influence) a shot, but I wasn't too impressed. The location was near Cebu Eastern College (CEC), and it rented space in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Dormitory. I dined in, but I wonder if the kitchen was really well-maintained. So far, I haven't gotten hepatitis or cholera. However, I started to question the quality and didn't dine in again at my discretion.

This would be a good question about services. Would it matter if the investor was a Filipino or a foreigner? The whole "Filipino First" nonsense is really nonsense. It's not about colonial mentality. Instead, it's getting what works, whether or not the investor is a Filipino or a foreigner. The Arabs running their halal restaurants made sure that their restaurants were well-maintained. Shawarma Gourmet even placed pictures on their Facebook page showing that they were doing disinfections whenever needed. Meanwhile, I wonder if Mhat Am Kape ever did any UV disinfection, especially since the location is very conducive to COVID-19. I can't be sure, though, if they did or not. Shawarma Gourmet kept the confidence of the customers by assuring them that disinfection was going on during the peak of the pandemic. I think it was announced sometime before the vaccinations came out.

Dare to dine in halal restaurants run by Filipinos that don't follow safety standards in the name of "Filipino First"?" It wouldn't be patriotism but stupidity to do so. For all we know, the halal resto run by a Filipino Muslim may not even be paying taxes like the pirated DVD stalls. Sure, some of them do pay legitimate rent but they don't pay taxes. Meanwhile, the Arabs who opened their halal restaurants are all tax-mapped and are even eligible for delivery services like Foodpanda (German) and Grab (Singaporean). Shawarma Gourmet was once available on Grab Foods, though they decided to do their own delivery services. These Arabs pay all their required taxes and fees (such as for sanitary permits), they buy their equipment from trusted stores, and avail themselves of the local services. In short, the Arabs who are opening their restaurants are actually contributing to the economy. It would

It wouldn't matter anyway if the restaurant were local or foreign. Those run by Arabs tend to follow strict safety standards. The ingredients have to be fresh. The kitchen has to be of good quality. They would end up also benefiting the local businesses, not just by providing good food but by being good customers. You may find these Arabs purchasing locally made flour to make their pita bread or loads of spices (such as garlic and onion) from the Carbon Market. They might even be getting turmeric from Bicol because it would be fresher than if they imported it from the Middle East. They end up boosting the environment, proving that foreign investors aren't the only ones who get rich. They get rich but so what? They will still end up buying from local suppliers and paying government fees, which include taxes. They get rich from net profits after taxes, meaning their wealth is only determined after expenses are paid. 

If people all kept eating at dirty local restaurants (permit or no permit) then more people would get sick. A sick population creates a low-income population because they can't work properly. Bosses will make bad business decisions if they're all sick. A sickly labor force can't produce the output that their bosses require. A sick boss with a sick workforce will create a sick business. A sick business will end up creating sick customers. When people are sick, they can't work properly and will end up spending their hard-earned savings on medication. Sure, there are insurances, but there's much insurance can cover. What happens is that there will be fewer income taxes to collect due to the underperformance of businesses. Eventually, much money will be spent on healthcare, and no taxes to back it up because the public is sick from eating in local dirty restaurants.

In the end, it's not about whether or not something is local or imported. What matters is that it delivers good results to the local business environment. The Arabs who deliver quality services are welcome to stay. The Filipino businesses that don't deliver quality services deserve to perish. A foreign investor who has no competence will also perish at the hands of a competent Filipino investor.  It's all about the survival of the fittest, whether one is a local investor or a foreign investor.