Halal dim sum, airport prayer rooms: howHong Kong, Japan and Korea won over Muslim travelers

?After diplomatic spats with China, Japanand South Korea turned towards courting Muslim travellers

?Hong Kong’s array of halal food allowssome of its most famous dishes to be enjoyed while sticking to Islamicprinciples

Along with an influx of travellers fromSoutheast Asia, more Muslims are visiting Hong Kong, Japan, and South Koreathan ever before.

The latter two have seen efforts to attractthe Muslim travel market pay off, while Hong Kong has seen its halal food scenebooming as more than 2.5 million travellers visited the city from South andSoutheast Asia in the first nine months of the year.

In 2017, Japan welcomed nearly 1.2 millionvisitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. That figure was about as manyas it received from the United States, and over a hundred times more than itreceived from the Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Meanwhile, roughlyhalf a million travellers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore visited Koreain the first nine months of this year, with the number of Malaysian visitors toKorea growing 40 per cent from last year.

Why are so many Muslims suddenly visitingJapan?p

Online marketing, low-cost air travel, anda wave of interest in Japanese and Korean pop culture have all played a part inthis new-found popularity. Both Japan and Korea began courting the Muslimtravel market after diplomatic spats with China ? the source of 70 per cent ofthe two countries’ tourists. These efforts are paying off, and the twonortheast Asian nations now top online lists of Muslim-friendly destinations inAsia.

“Four or five years ago, these destinationswere not seen as Muslim friendly,” said Fazal Bahardeen, founder of the travelplatform Halal Trip and market research organisation Crescent Rating. “Sincethen Japan and Korea have been making sure they can cater to Muslim travellersand making them aware of what is on offer.”

The tourism organisations of both countrieshave installed prayer facilities at airports and tourist sites and publishedhalal food guides for major cities in multiple languages in an effort tocapitalise on this fast-growing market. “Things like this encourage Muslims tofeel more welcome in unknown territory,” said Elena Nikolova, who runs thepopular social media account Muslim Travel Girl.

Japan’s National Tourism Organisation haspublished a communication sheet in English and Japanese to help Muslims inquireabout halal dining and prayer facility options and ask directions to thenearest mosque. It has also adopted halal certification standards based onJakim, the standard across Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Korea Tourism has published anillustrated national guide to halal eating and even hosts a yearly Halal RestaurantWeek. But it is Hong Kong that is leading the way in the culinary stakes.

Forget the days when eating halal meantsticking to kebabs or vegetarian curries, the city now boasts halal ramen,halal dim sum and even halal versions of that Hong Kong classic, roast duck.

“A lot of people in this region wouldn’tbelieve Hong Kong is a place where you can stick to your Islamic principles,”said Melvin Goh, co-founder of the Singapore-based website Have Halal WillTravel, which publishes food guides for cities across Asia.

Goh, whose site selected Hong Kong as itsNo 1 destination for 2018, said he aimed to show his fellow Muslims that theydid not need to skip experiencing the city’s famous food culture, despite itsreputation for cooking with lots of pork and lard.

There are six mosques in Hong Kong, and atMasjid Ammar in Wan Chai diners can find what some claim is the best halal dimsum in the city, served at the Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre Canteen.

Just down the street, venerated Wai Keeserves up halal roast duck in Bowrington Market, while a short MTR ride leadsto Xinjiang style meals at Islam Food in Kowloon City. Ma’s Restaurant in ShamShui Po is also popular for its curries.

Meanwhile, visitors to Ocean Park can tuckinto halal Hainan chicken rice, and Hong Kong Disneyland has two full-servicerestaurants certified as halal, and halal offerings at four of its hotels.

“In a way, you plan your itinerary basedaround the food places that are halal,” said Singaporean photographer ZakariaZainal, who visited Hong Kong for the first time with his wife in January.

With no need to worry about where he couldfind his next meal, Zakaria was free to enjoy all that Hong Kong has to offer.“As a living and breathing city, there is much to discover,” he said.

“There is an energy to this city that youcan’t find anywhere else south of China.”

Link->https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/2177964/halal-dim-sum-airport-prayer-rooms-how-hong-kong-japan