When A&W first re-opened their doors at Jewel, it sparked a nationwide craze. Singaporeans young and old clamoured and queued up for hours just to have a taste of the iconic coney dogs, root beer floats, and ice-cream waffles. Perhaps it was for the nostalgia, or the idea of a novel fast-food chain opening its stores in Singapore, but the fever was infectious and real.
I succumbed to the hype and found myself queuing up for more than 2 and a half hours one night, noting that the queue was made up of primarily Singaporeans. I can only imagine the confusion of tourists from countries like Indonesia, where A&W outlets are numerous and widespread. There’s one main difference between Indonesia’s A&W and Singapore’s, though—A&W in Singapore was not halal-certified.
Due to A&W’s lack of a halal certificate, Muslims in Singapore have waited patiently for their turn, and now they can take comfort in the fact that as of November 9, A&W has officially attained its halal certification.
It took a full year since its reopening, but A&W’s International Director of Marketing and Communication, Kelvin Tan, maintains that it had always aimed to be inclusive for all since the start. Though they have always insisted that their ingredients were 100% halal, the MUIS-certified certificate now makes it official.
We think the timing couldn’t have been better—a year later, the lines today are nowhere near as long. What’s more, there’s another A&W that has opened in AMK Hub, and one more coming up in Canberra Plaza.
So, if you’ve been holding off your A&W cravings all this while for them to be halal-certified, this is your cue to head down and get them satisfied as soon as possible. We’ve particularly got our eye on the famed onion rings and signature root beer float that complete the whole A&W experience.
