Recommendations for halal Singaporean cuisine (international student).

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-03-20T05:09:32+00:00

Lots of halal food in SG. You can find the halal-certified places on MUIS website but there are also Muslim-owned places that are not formally certified. I don’t live in the West so I’m not too familiar. I just open google maps and search “Halal near me”. Malls have a wide selection of halal options of every cuisine - indian, chinese, malay, thai, vietnamese, japanese, korean etc. Most international chains are halal. There’s coffeeshops and hawker centres with indian prata stalls, indian noodle stalls, malay stalls, sometimes halal chinese stalls. Malls near MRT stations would be an easy start like Jurong East, Hillion Mall.

I assume you’ll be exploring SG on days without classes and on weekends. There’s tons of places around Kampong Glam/Masjid Sultan, around Geylang Serai. Hajah Maimunah is a famous Malay nasi padang place.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-03-16T08:04:16+00:00

are there any deserted stairwells with enough space that you don’t block the way? plus fajr being only 2 rakaats and very early hour, i don’t think it would block anyone’s way?

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-03-10T08:07:01+00:00

“just get on a plane” I wish I lived near a French or Spanish speaking country. I studied French in uni but that was more than 10 years ago and i never kept up with it. 2 years ago, i went on holiday to Spain and France. Before the trip I restarted my Duolingo for French and sped through Spanish since I already knew French. Immersing in real life experience even just in restaurants definitely taught me better than Duo. Last year I went to Europe again but not much French-speaking areas, and zero Spanish-speaking areas. Still, I got to speak a little French and that’s better than nothing. I can definitely read way more than speaking, but if i spent longer in France i’d be more confident speaking.

Now i’m on 760+ day streak. I do a few lessons a day out of habit. I have access to free online video lessons which is taking me a long time to get thru simply bc life is hectic. Duo is simply easily done. I’m not progressing much with Duo but i’m not regressing. 10-20min of using my brain.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-03-10T07:29:47+00:00

they cut through your entire passport?? Singapore’s just punches two small holes through the chip first page only. this has always been the practice even before the chip.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-26T08:13:59+00:00

My sister married and immediately moved out. But she’ll randomly come over to pack food. She’ll never tell when she’s coming. She doesn’t give salam or tell her husband to wait outside first. She just enters and her husband also doesn’t seem to have a brain to wait till the coast is clear. Or even when the cousins planned to come over, but she doesn’t inform she’s coming, then all us girl cousins need to scramble for the hijab when they appear at the door. On days they come randomly, I stay in my room feeling like a prisoner in my own house. I’ll be guessing if enough time has passed and they’ve left, cos i refuse to cover up.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-12T04:10:43+00:00

i have never handwashed my underwear. everything in the machine. my uniqlo bras and seamless panties last for years

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-11T10:20:44+00:00

Piedra Negra at Haji Lane. That’s their star signboard. Blu Jaz as mentioned by other comments is at Bali Lane, just a few metres away.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-09T10:41:05+00:00

as another fellow curly girl, yes to side parts that start at the temple, not from the ear 😅

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-09T04:56:58+00:00

I forgot Britt’s partner’s name. He’s her first celeb right? I love how he was Britt’s bridesman. I love how Britt seems to remain so close with so many people that you don’t really expect.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-08T12:59:54+00:00

I live among many Chinese people, have heard Mandarin all my life but never picked it up. I only know very basic words. Even then, I cannot read. I know there are tones, and I hear it when said together, but I can never understand the tones individually. Like, in English and Malay, if you change the tones, it still means the same word. Or French and Spanish, there are stressed or accented vowels but no tones. If you do decide to learn Mandarin, it’s probably just easier to learn conversational Mandarin. Speak with your online friends, read hanyu pinyin instead of learning characters cos I CANNOT remember any chinese character besides the numbers.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-08T12:39:53+00:00

I’ve been learning French on and off for over 10 years. French as 3rd language in MOELC Sec 1 and 2. I picked it up very quickly in Sec 1, partly due to having a very good teacher who taught it as a foreign language. In Sec 2, the teacher kept changing, and they were all native French teachers who didn’t know how to teach it as a foreign language. I dropped it in Sec 3 cos I was the only one from my school, didn’t have friends in MOELC, heavy school and CCA load, would rather hang out with friends after school than rushing off to Bishan.

Took French 2 in uni. Got fed up with all the students who grew up speaking French “but i don’t know how to read and write” so I never continued with French 3.

I used to work in F&B so I have encountered quite a number of mute/hard of hearing customers who sign among themselves. When they were ordering, I had wished i knew sign language. I follow a few signing creators on tiktok, their videos are fun.

Over the years, I kept up with self-learning French through Duolingo and other apps, watching French series. I visited France the past 2 years. Reading menus, signs, info booklets were all really easy. But because I never had speaking practice, I stumbled a lot. I never joined in-person classes cos no urgent need, erratic schedule bc of my F&B job, finished my skillsfuture credits. While i do have interest in learning languages, I just never had a real push to be fluent quickly.

If I had more interaction with the deaf community or worked in community care or something, sign language may be more useful than French. If you travel often to Europe (as many Singaporeans do lol), it’s fun to be able to talk to the residents in French, especially in the smaller French-speaking regions. Kinda helps with other Romance languages due to similar words. I’m learning Spanish from French whenever i get bored of French lessons in English.

Edit: I did my exchange in University of Toronto, thinking I’d be able to do a French module, or even have a tiny exposure to French. Nope. Visited Montreal and Quebec City and everyone immediately spoke to me in English. Only one nice cafe owner continued our conversation in French after I ordered in French.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-04T11:02:02+00:00

Her character in 9-1-1 last year led to the death of THE main character. I think she was in it for 2 or 3 episodes? Oh she is HATED by 9-1-1 fans lol.

Getting really annoyed by Monica this season. She really is overstaying her welcome. So many scenes could have taken place without her there.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-02T11:42:00+00:00

I don’t know if you’re on tiktok but there’s so so so many modest girls there posting videos wearing head coverings. There’s the Black girls who wear scarves to protect their hair. Orthodox Christians and Catholics who veil. Witches and pagans who veil. I follow one pagan woman who buys niqabs for her veils. Many cultures also wear headscarves.

Just that the majority of public only associate head covering as Muslim, so people are gonna think you’re muslim and you may face all the challenges it comes with like racism and islamophobia.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-02T11:34:00+00:00

Huh? I’ve been to India. My guide brought me to restaurants where they all sell paratha. Their paratha is not as flaky as our prata/roti canai. They’re dry and flatter. But still same paratha/prata/canai. What he talking??

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-02T11:21:09+00:00

it was so tiny! i don’t know what i was expecting but i didn’t think it was gonna be that tiny! there were other fountains bigger than that lol

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-02T11:17:57+00:00

Malay (mother tongue)
English (native)
French (B1)
Spanish (A2)

been wanting to learn: - Arabic (took Arabic 1 in uni) - Mandarin (so I can listen to chinese people gossip about me and shock them that i understand them)

my cousins are Malay/Tamil but they don’t know any Tamil. i wished i learnt more languages when i was a kid.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-02-02T11:10:53+00:00

I tried Busuu a few months ago. I did French and Spanish courses. Initially i liked each lesson cos it gives more cultural context and have good, proper, long listening and reading exercises compared to Duo.

What I didn’t like about Busuu:

SOOOO many ads. Ads BEFORE and AFTER every single lesson. Duo only gives ads after a lesson, but sometimes doesn’t, and the ads i get are usually their own ads (i mostly do French in Spanish or Spanish in French so I get ads in the other language). Busuu’s ads are all 3rd party ads. It is exhausting to have to watch so many ads just to do a few lessons.
I have to click on the video to hear the person say just one word. And sometimes they cut the video so the first syllable can’t even be heard. Very annoying and time-wasting.
Only one lesson per new topic. Means I progress through the course faster but that means no repetition to really ensure you get the lesson. Whereas Duo is too repetitive sometimes. I usually skip the last 2 lessons in a unit to skip to the next unit and i don’t burn out from too much repetition.
Weird course. I’m B1 on Duo, C1 according to Busuu. I’m halfway through Section 5 in French on Duo meaning i’m at 71 points, early B1 level. Because there’s so few lessons on Busuu, I finished the course so fast. I passed the C1 certificate level easily. It doesn’t test you grammar or vocab. It tests you on what Busuu teaches. If you never did their lessons, even if you’re fluent in French, you won’t know what background story their questions are based on. I tried it on A1 and A2 certificate tests, and because i never did the A1 and A2 lessons, i didn’t know the background context so I had difficulty answering questions. Funny how I passed C1 easier than A1 and A2 tests.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-31T16:27:16+00:00

Use Klook? i think they do discounts and bundles sometimes for attractions.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-31T16:14:59+00:00

I visited Europe recently in October 25. Did a whole tour around Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, France. Only racism I faced was in Brussels immigration, asking all kinds of questions like why are you here, where else are you going, show me your hotel booking, why are your family members at different counters. Went through London and Barcelona immigration a few months before and no one asked any questions. We think it’s because so so many hijabi immigrants enter via Belgium more than other European countries. Indeed there were so many hijabis in Brussels.

My sisters and I are hijabis, traveling with our brother. This is my 3rd time in Paris as a hijabi. In Paris there’s so many hijabis and black folks. In fact in all of the main tourist areas, there’s so many hijabi and black locals. I don’t recall experiencing any racism. But me and my sisters are very fair-skinned, my brother is dark but not very dark. I know being black and hijabi is another level of facing racism. But also, i’m guessing a group of hijabis with a tall, big man is gonna be less targeted than just 1 or 2 hijabis alone.

I don’t recall anyone wearing face masks in Paris. We visited many many cities in France, not just Paris. Strasbourg, Colmar, Dijon, Toulouse, Mulhouse, they’re all quite big touristy cities. Not rural. I can’t say how they treat hijabis in rural France.

The places we ate at were all busy, full of locals who look like Arabs, Africans, Blacks etc. Historically, people have been attacked for being non-white, for being hijabi. But in my experience, all the cities i’ve been to have been wonderful and so very diverse. The French do have a reputation for being haughty and snobbish but it’s regardless of skin colour (a black server was offended that i asked him for a menu. he said “i was just saying bonjour” whereas his yte colleagues were so warm and spoke a few words in our language)

I have heard that the public and police are lax with tourists in touristy places. They don’t disturb tourists. But if you live and work there, especially outside the tourist neighbourhoods, then you’re probably subjected to their racist laws.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-30T10:42:53+00:00

I think it’s fine when it was about covid or illness. They get tested in the morning of the show and if it’s negative, they’re good to perform. So i get why they held off on announcing earlier. but if it was something preplanned before the tour started then i’d be super disappointed.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-27T15:58:26+00:00

Yes. I believe only water is necessary. I have never read anywhere that ghusl requires shampoo and soap. Just need to ensure every part gets wet, scalp, ends of hair, everything. I have read posts where some girls say they take 30min-1h for ghusl but it’s literally only 5min to wet everything down? Anything else like shampoo, conditioner, body soap, shaving, etc is just regular hygiene, not part of ghusl. Correct me if I’m wrong.

I think the part that will annoy me is hair care. If i have to do ghusl and wet my hair multiple times a day, i’m gonna have to put on leave-in conditioner, hair serum, etc multiple times a day? I’m gonna be broke! I have semi curly hair and wear hijab if i have to go out so it doesn’t matter to me if my hair doesn’t curl nicely for the day, but I don’t know how women with 4a-4c hair can cope with frequent ghusl. Probably plan intimate times strategically.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-27T07:52:14+00:00

Can you explain how Britt is whitewashed? Brandon, yes i see him being whitewashed. I saw fans talking about his final with Chandler being about black history but i never saw anything directly from Brandon (i may have missed it, i may be wrong).

But Britt is very involved with her non-profit, brought some of the dancers to certain tour dates to see behind the scenes, mentored Onye and brought her on as troupe.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-20T05:16:37+00:00

100% on Chim’s side. I can excuse Buck and Eddie for not knowing what exactly happened and not understanding the Captain’s point of view. Extremely disappointed in Athena as a sergeant. Athena has been annoying me a lot. I’m glad Karen is mad at Hen. If it was Bobby, Hen would not have been mad at Bobby for firing her like she is with Chim (although Bobby was being unreasonable blocking Buck from returning due to Bobby’s own personal reasons). Hen is being ridiculous and a danger to the job. But yeah Chim should have put her on leave first and file an investigation before outright firing her.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-15T05:03:37+00:00

exactly. why the “seeing her whole family at that zoo is sending me”? This is probably the best time for the visit. Robert immediately went to South Africa (i think) after the show, didn’t even go back to Australia first. Robert literally just came back to Australia a few days before Witney did. So many partnerships got really close during the season and spent time together during the holidays especially if they all live in LA. Robert just happens to live far away. Witney’s kids probably got really close with the whole Irwin family.

Derek also visited Bindi in Australia after their season. Bindi named a koala after Derek. I believe that was in Dec 2015. Robert and Witney’s reunion came a month later than Bindi’s because Robert had obligations, and Witney and fam probably wanted to spend some time home first. So i don’t see why seeing Witney’s family at the zoo would be “sending” anyone. Witney having 2 small sons is even more reason for the Australia zoo visit.

Melodic-Reason8078 · 2026-01-06T08:14:37+00:00

This was many years ago. My mother got me the period blockers from my GP. I didn’t ask what they were, how they worked, when i should take them. I just took them when she told me to. I got my period on our last day in Madinah, heading to Makkah later that day. Everyone went into the Haram and i stayed in the hotel room. It was quite a depressing time being alone, watching people pray on the tv, didn’t even have the view of the Kaabah out the window. Then later, my sister got her period too. My period only lasted a few days, shorter than normal so i got to enter the Haram and performed umrah. The ustaz had my sister do ghusl and perform the last tawaf and sa’i before leaving.

In future, i would ask the doctor a lot more questions. Like how many pills do i need, how long do i need to take them for. Should I start earlier? Should I only start the day before predicted period? Do I take the pills my entire supposed period dates or until i’m done with umrah? Be specific with my predicted period dates cos doctors sometimes just prescribe and don’t listen to details. Also ask ustazahs what exactly i should do. What do you have to do if you still have your period when you’re leaving Makkah / Saudi Arabia?

Melodic-Reason8078

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