Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. It marks a time when Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, drink, and other physical needs as a means of purifying the body and soul. It’s a time of spiritual reflection and growth, a time to strengthen one’s faith and build deeper connections with one another.

One of the most precious aspects of Ramadan is the tradition of breaking the fast. This is also known as iftar. It’s a moment of celebration, where family and friends come together to enjoy a feast of delicious food and drinks, sharing stories, and laughter. Indeed, it’s a time of reflection, gratitude, and community. It’s Ramadan.

For the past month, we have been asking ourselves, our friends and colleagues about the meaning of Ramadan. Here’s what we have gathered.

SIX REASONS WHY WE LOVE RAMADAN

1. It Renews Our Optimism

Fasting helps in the improvement of one’s resilience and perseverance. Ramadan is a time for purifying the soul and recalibrating oneself. Time goes by so fast and we are always occupied and blinded by the daily rigors of our own lives. Ramadan is a time when we could finally find our footing, take a breather, slow down, and reflect.

Sometimes we are so engrossed in our own lives - what we don’t have, what we yearn for - that we forget to appreciate what we have. Ramadan is a powerful source of optimism.

It is during this time when we become more appreciative of what we have, and remember those who have less rather than those who have more. Simply put, we show gratitude.

2. It Brings Us Closer to Our Family

Ramadan is family time, and family commitment is essential. Due to our busy work schedules and social lives, we often schedule others before our family. Ramadan reinforces the importance of observing a ritual with family. One of our colleagues, Iswati, recommends the following schedule during Ramadan.

Family Story & Sharing Session

Allocate 15 minutes. Everyone gathers in the living room and takes turns reading short Islamic stories and having an informal discussion on the values the stories try to convey.

Blessing Session at Home

It takes less than 20 minutes to recite a prayer. Choose a prayer to be offered together and encourage everyone in the family to participate.

Eat Iftar Together

Eating and spending time together without the interference of mobile phones and apps is precious. Eating together as a family unit subconsciously satisfies the spiritual and emotional need for companionship. It allows time for us to form and nurture bonds with one another adequately.

Making Origami or Ramadan Craft

Art and craft are chicken soup to the soul. Search for “easy crafts” on Google to come up with good ideas that can be easily implemented. Include everyone - adults and kids in some Ramadan crafting. It makes for good laughs and an enjoyable time.

Enjoy Splendid Desserts Together

Desserts are a great finish to the day. Our favorite desserts for Ramadan are Almond London, Badak Berendam, Sticky Date Pudding, and Ondeh Ondeh.

Our team at Momolato has curated Coconut Pandan Mochi halal gelato ice cream. Badak Berendam is a popular traditional dessert in Asia. It’s made up of glutinous rice balls loaded with grated coconut that has been delicately cooked with palm sugar and submerged in coconut sauce.

Our source of inspiration for Coconut Pandan Mochi gelato ice cream came from Badak Berendam. This halal gelato ice cream handcrafted using rich coconut cream infused with Hokkaido milk and topped with loads of homemade pandan mochi balls. It’s chewy and an absolutely delightful halal gelato ice cream.

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At Momolato, we are huge chocolate lovers. We are so in love with Almond London that we made our own rendition of Chocolate Almond London. This halal gelato ice cream flavor is made using chocolate-infused Hokkaido milk and topped with chunks of chocolate-coated almond pieces.

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Our absolute Ramadan halal “creme de la creme“ gelato ice cream is our Sticky Date Pudding. We churned thick and rich cookie butter gelato ice cream and filled it with a chock full of homemade chocolate brownies and drizzled with ribbons of sticky date sea salt butterscotch sauce.

best ramadan halal gelato ice cream sticky date pudding

If you are mad about Ondeh Ondeh, then our Aidilfitri Halal Gelato Ice Cream Cake will be a perfect evening dessert to be enjoyed with your friends and family. We just cannot stop eating this halal gelato ice cream cake! This cake consists of a layer of sea salt gula melaka halal gelato ice cream, which is encased with pandan coconut gelato ice cream. It is sprinkled generously and covered with desiccated coconut for that additional “oomph”.

best ramadan hari raya halal gelato ice cream cake ondeh ondeh

3. We Love Ramadan Decorations & Bakes

Putting up Ramadan and Eid decor in the house is an obvious and effective way to get everyone involved. We love to decorate our homes to remind us of the spirit of Ramadan. It is a period of love, forgiveness, mercy, and bonding.

No activity is more effective than putting up lights and banners, and crafting the Eid countdown calendar. We love setting up itikaf tents for kids to play in.

One of the activities we enjoy doing with the family is to bake crescent and moon-shaped Ramadan and Eid date cookies for us to send to our family and friends. This is how we’d make it.

Ingredients

Dough
350g semolina flour
50g fine caster sugar
120g of unsalted butter
1g active dry yeast
60g all-purpose flour
10g orange blossom water
10g rose water

Fillings
400g of pitted dates
10g of cinnamon powder
60g of melted unsalted butter

1. Mix semolina flour with fine caster sugar, all-purpose flour, yeast, rose water and orange blossom water.
2. Add butter slowly until fully incorporated.
3. Use food processor to blend pitted dates with cinnamon powder and melted unsalted butter until it becomes a consistent date paste.
4. Mix date paste with dough mix evenly.
5. Pinch off the resulting dough combination and roll into a small walnut-sized ball, press down.
6. Put into oven at 190C and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool before storing into an airtight container.

4. We Learn How To Be More Generous & Giving

Giving generously and regularly is a part of the essence of the Ramadan period. Alongside the rituals of prayer and fasting, giving is a natural element of this auspicious month.

A prophet once said, “Give each other gifts and you will love one another”. Indeed, gift-giving is a way of strengthening relationships and building bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood. It is a way of being more generous and kind. It is important to choose gifts that are appropriate and thoughtful.

There isn’t one gift that is the most appropriate. Whatever gift for Ramadan you choose, ensure it is something that the recipient will appreciate and enjoy. We are sure that you will surely make someone absolutely delighted this Ramadan.

For kids

Ramadan Calendar

best-ramadan-hariraya-gift-2023 — Courtesy of Anna Khokha, Etsy

Make your Ramadan more exciting for your children by helping them to feel the importance of Ramadan. Children's Ramadan Calendar can be a good way to help your child get the most out of the month by doing the 30-day challenges.

Ramadan Around The World

Ramadan Around The World is a book written by Ndaa Hassan. It showcases how various cultures celebrate the Islamic holiday. The purpose of this book is to illustrate the diversity of the global Muslim community. Children from various nationalities and abilities are represented throughout the book. It makes for good reading before bedtime or during Iftar.

Cotton Candy Bubblegum Halal Gelato Ice Cream

The cotton candy bubblegum halal gelato ice cream is a party flavor that’s always a hit with kids. The distinct and colorful rippling of cotton candy gelato and bubble gum gelato is a delight to the eyes. It’s perfect for celebrations with children and also for the child in you. We also have cotton candy bubblegum halal gelato ice cream cake for your consideration.

best ramadan hari raya halal gelato ice cream cotton candy

Milo Dinosaur with Marshmallows Halal Gelato Ice Cream

Milo is our childhood. It’s probably Singapore’s favorite childhood chocolate-flavored drink. And, this is our take on this old-school local delight. This Milo Dinosaur with Marshmallows halal gelato and ice cream is silky smooth, tastes absolutely malty with bits of marshmallows and a dose of milo powder for a bite to remember. Grab a pint and pop it onto your favorite cold milo or milk!

best ramadan hari raya halal gelato ice cream milo dinosaur

For adults

Dates Gift Box

Dates are a traditional food in Islam, and they are usually eaten during Ramadan. It’s part of the sunnah to break fast with water and dates. A luxurious date gift box with a world map is perfect for sharing with friends, family, and colleagues. In addition, the dates are cultivated using sustainable farming practices with an inimitable taste and flavor profile.

Ramadan Raya Halal Gelato Ice Cream Gift Set

best ramadan hari raya deluxe ice cream gift set

We are psyched to offer you our specially-curated Ramadan Raya Festive Halal Gelato Ice Cream Bundle. This unique Ramadan halal gelato ice cream gift set comprises Sticky Date Pudding, Chocolate Almond London, Coconut Pandan Mochi, and 2 Rose Coconut Attap Seed designer fruit popsicles. With an order of S$75 and above, we’d deliver your order at no additional cost.

5. We Eat Healthier

During Ramadan, we eat healthier. Fasting during Ramadan is very similar to intermittent fasting. It restricts the time of eating and gives our guts ample rest for a minimum of 14 hours.

For the health-conscious, we would recommend our keto halal gelato ice cream to break your fast. Our favorite halal keto gelato ice cream flavor is Keto Nama Chocolate. This Keto Nama chocolate gelato ice cream is made with serious chocolate & keto lovers in mind, and is our number one best-selling keto & diabetic-friendly gelato ice cream flavor. It is halal, keto, diabetic-friendly, sugar-free.

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Alternatively, if you are looking for a light and thirst-quenching snack after a long day, try our Designer Fresh Fruit Assorted Popsicle Pack. Our designer fresh fruit halal ice cream popsicles are crafted using fresh fruits and premium ingredients.

6. We Love Ramadan Bazaars

We recall how disappointed we were back in 2020 when the Geylang Serai Bazzar was canceled. Therefore, for us, this year is truly exciting.

The Ramadan Bazaar at Geylang Serai is finally back in full gear. This year, the market boasts 700 stalls. Of course, food is amongst the main attractions. Apart from normal bazaar food and traditional kueh, Geylang Serai food stretch also offers innovative waffles, pancakes, and many other delights that we can’t wait to try. After two years of hiatus, it is now time for us to dive right in!

ramadan hari raya 2023 halal gelato ice cream places — Source: Mothership.sg

Also back in full swing is the Kampong Glam Ramadan Bazaar. This is the biggest-ever Raikan Cahaya Ramadan 2023. We absolutely love the Arabic bubble tea stall as well as deep fried churros.

If you happen to be around the Kampong Glam area, why not stop by our Momolato Cafe at 34 Haji Lane for a scoop of halal gelato ice cream? Pop by and have a taste of our special Ramadan halal gelato ice cream flavors. You can find Sticky Date Pudding, Coconut with Pandan Mochi as well as Chocolate Almond London halal gelato ice cream flavors at our cafe.

We also offer crispy and fragrant halal buttermilk waffles and croffles. Have them by themselves or with a scoop of halal gelato ice cream. We have 18 halal gelato ice cream flavors for you to choose from. Take a rest at our cafe before continuing your shopping around Arab Street.

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THE BOTTOM LINE

We wish everyone a beautiful and blissful Ramadan, and hope you spend quality time with your family, friends, and loved ones.

Momolato is the best curator and supplier of halal-certified, fresh, gourmet gelato ice cream, gelato ice cream cakes, and halal-certified gelato ice cream popsicles in Singapore. Our gelato ice cream are made using only top quality and fresh ingredients. This makes your Ramadan & Hari Raya gifting more interesting and exciting than ever!

6 REASONS WHY WE LOVE RAMADAN