Rat in Me Kitchen

Rat in Me Kitchen

Perusing one of the larger supermarkets in Phnom Penh I found a new variation on a classic product. I was first introduced to this by fellow expat Karen in the year 2000, who practially dragged me to the aisle to show me.

She pointed out a metal tin and the text went something like: “Put glue on board. Leave food. Rat will come and be trap. Rat will scream. Other rat come too.

I’ve heard rustlings near my stove and roaches don’t get that big, so I’m sticking one of these out tonight.

N-RAT-1

The original title was “No-Rat”. Today’s version is a bit more sophisticated and comes with its own glue-coated platter. No pesticides involved? Thumbs up. I found several variations to choose from (N-Rat, E-Rat), and went for the more cartoony cover.

The back cover even makes some menu suggestions for the savvy palate of Asian rodents: “put rat bait such as mackerel, pork, dried shrimp in the middle of a plate.”

N-RAT_detail

Made in Thailand, about $1.00.

*reference: Song by UB40: http://youtu.be/c42z3LAGyTM / Album: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_in_the_Kitchen
Postscript: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012091258640/Lifestyle/rat-meat-on-the-menu-at-the-vietnam-border.html

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