Tayama 4 Cup Rice Cooker

Inner lining flakes
This rice cooker is very pretty and compact. It cooks rice well and has a nonstick lining. The manufacturer gives instructions on how to take care of the nonstick lining and we followed it. During normal use though, as the rice cooker boils for multiple periods of time, the lining also bubbles and permanent bumps develop at the bottom of the bowl. Then the lining flakes off. The manufacturer doesn't comment on this fact and just offers to sell you another replacement bowl for $10. We have had this rice cooker for around 2 years.

first tests: does a good job
I bought this at Houston's Hong Kong market because the regulars there were actively buying these units in preference to much more elaborate (and expensive) units. I've only used it a couple of times, so, if the non-stick coating is fragile, I haven't had the number of rice-makings to determine that. What I do know is that it does an excellent job of cooking long-grain rice. I also did "sweet rice" (Daichi), which, I think, is the same as "sticky rice" and "sushi rice." I rinsed the rice, but did not soak it, and the results were quite good, but maybe a tad more water would be call for.
Remember that the markings for water levels are per cup of rice, but the cup is the 160ml cup that comes with the unit. I will report if, and when, I experience problems with the coating that another reviewer reports.

Terrible!
I bought this rice cooker for my new apartment in January; it was broken by mid February. I bought it because it was attractively priced and had decent reviews compared to the other ones I was looking at. I used the rice cooker around ten times, and when it broke, I learned that the limited warranty requires a $12 shipping and handling payment. So what happened? Darned if I knew. I was already displeased with its "warm" feature to begin with, as it would slowly turn my white rice into yellow porridge. But when one day I put my rice down to cook and came back a couple hours later to find the unit completely off, I just lost it. The plug was plugged in correctly to the outlet and the unit, and there was no issue with the outlet when I tried my other appliances with it. The thing just would not work. To be fair, I only gave this item one star because it inexplicably stopped working and I felt like investing in the limited warranty would be equivalent to throwing my money into a pit of...

Click to Editorial Reviews