Popular Indonesia ayam goreng restaurant of 52 years found to use pork lard in cooking, triggers public outcry

Customers of a popular ayam goreng (fried chicken) restaurant in Indonesia were blindsided by the shock revelation that it uses pork lard in its cooking, and hence is not halal.

Established in 1973, Ayam Goreng Widuran, located in Surakarta city (also known as Solo) in Central Java, has been in business for around 52 years.

The restaurant has since apologised on Instagram and changed their listings to reflect that they are a non-halal eatery.

Amid public backlash, the city mayor has ordered a temporary closure of the restaurant for a halal assessment, according to Indonesian media.

Pork lard controversy

The controversy was reportedly sparked off by a Threads user who claimed in a May 19 post that the restaurant was using pork lard as an ingredient in cooking their fried chicken.

After the post went viral on social media, numerous Muslim customers expressed disapproval as the restaurant had not indicated there were non-halal items on the menu, BBC Indonesia reported.

Others made police reports against the eatery for misleading Muslim customers.

According to a 2017 Tripadvisor post, the restaurant had once sported the word "halal" on its banner.

But in more recent posts to its Google review page, the banner has been changed and no longer indicates that the eatery is halal.

Restaurant's apology

On May 23, the restaurant shared a public apology on its Instagram.

Addressing customers, it extended its "deepest apologies" for the matter and the distress caused.

As a first step, the restaurant said it has clearly included the "Non-Halal" tag in its stores, as well as on its social media.

On Google and Instagram, it is currently listed as a non-halal eatery.

A restaurant employee of 10 years, Nanang, clarified with media that the non-halal ingredient used was pork lard, to fry the chicken kremesan.

Kremesan, a crunchy deep-fried spice mix, is used as a garnish for dishes like fried chicken.

Nanang said it was only the kremesan that was fried in pork fat and the chicken itself was fried with a certified halal oil, local news outlet Detik News reported.

Mayor ordered temporary closure

The public backlash prompted the mayor of Solo, Respati Ardi, to conduct a surprise inspection at the restaurant on May 26, Kompas reported.

He was accompanied by a number of local officials, as well as representatives from the police and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI).

Respati said the restaurant has been asked to close temporarily to undergo a halal assessment by the relevant agencies.

He also encouraged its owners to apply for an official halal or non-halal certification.

Top image from Wisnu Triage/Google & Reddit