Food safety officials uncover unsatisfactory hygiene conditions after diner finds live baby rat covered in satay sauce and moving among beef noodles
2-MIN READ2-MINDanny MokPublished: 10:54pm, 7 Sep 2026Updated: 10:55pm, 7 Sep 2026Hong Kong food safety authorities have prosecuted a restaurant after an investigation into claims that a newborn rat was found wriggling inside one of its takeaway lunchboxes uncovered unsatisfactory hygiene conditions.
The lunchbox came from Wa Jer Restaurant, located in the Wah Sing Industrial Building on Wah Sing Street.
A customer reportedly bought a HK$44 (US$5.60) set meal that included satay beef rice noodles, a ham omelette and a drink.
When opening the takeaway box, she discovered a live baby rat covered in satay sauce and moving among the noodles.
The customer uploaded the footage to a social media platform, where it quickly went viral and sparked heated online debate over the source of the creature.
The diner preserved the meal box intact and immediately filed a complaint with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
A department spokesman said it received the complaint on Monday, seized the food for testing and found hygiene conditions in parts of the premises to be unsatisfactory.
