StarBlueTakoyaki Maker - Electric Machine for Japanese Octopus Balls with FREE Picks - Easy to Operate, AC 120V 50/60Hz 650W

Having lived in Japan for more than 15 years off and on in my life, I have always loved the street vendors selling takoyaki and ebiyaki. This Takoyaki Maker reproduces the same quality and ease that were found on the streets of Tokyo!The unit works very well, and while there is not adjustable temperature control, the static setting is perfect for making takoyaki or other similar items. Cooks perfectly and the non-stick surface is easy to clean after use.We do not use the metal Takoyaki picks that come with the unit as they have the potential to scratch the teflon surface. We use either toothpicks or chopsticks sharpened to a point. Easy turning and great browning.The Takoyaki Maker can cook a wide array of similar foods for the balls. Those include everything from shrimp balls, veggie balls, and even mac-n-cheese balls! A small recipe book I highly recommend is available on Amazon that has a wide variety of things to do with the Maker. The title is "The Little Book of Takoyaki" and available at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316494127This Takoyaki Maker rates Five Stars for ease of use and cleaning, as well as finished yaki's. I can give it my honest and very hearty recommendation. Bon Appetit!

+ Really easy to use, turn on. Thats it. No need to worry about temperature or burning.+ Easy to clean since its non stick+ Came with 2 tongs to flip the takoyaki easily since using chopsticks or forks makes it hard to flip without damagingthe balls- Cooking is a bit uneven, one side is hotter than the other, but all comes out cooked, just crispier on the half farther from the switch- Easy to clean, BUT plate does not detatch so you have to wipe it down and not easily rinsable.Made an error when i complained with CS, CS replied immediately and fixed my problem. Really helpful. Would recommend.

Took me 3 tries to really know how to use this and make takoyaki. Here are some of my recommendations: use some oil spray generously so that the balls don't stick to the surface. On my first try, I made the mistake of being stiny and using too little that the batter stuck. And being new at it, I used the utensils and scraped it off. I left some scratch marks as a result. My second advice is to let it get hot for a bit, maybe like 3 min after you turn it on. Once you pour the batter, wait a few min until the batter stops looking so liquidy. At that point, you can start trying to rotate the balls halfway and do the usual takoyaki process of rolling them around so they are cooked. Pour more batter so that it becomes a full ball rather than one that looks deflated.It is very light and portable. I took it to my friend's house and made takoyaki easily. It's easy to wash and the batter doesn't stick too badly so long as long as you're generous with the oil. Once you start cooking, you shouldn't take your eyes off of it and go anywhere as the heat is consistent and you can burn the takoyaki if not careful.Overall, pretty good quality and recommend it to other folks!

The very first thing I noticed when I took this product out of the box was that it was a little smaller than I expected and the cooking plate was crooked. I thought maybe it was sat in the electrical component wonky and I could push the plate down and it'll snap into place, but no. The plate doesn't move, which means it's a manufacturing issue. Because the level wasn't flat, whenever I would make takoyaki, the batter would pool to the lower side because that's how gravity works and it would overflow. You can see in the third photo, it's overflowing on one side, but there's no batter on the other. The unevenness is causing that to happen. And also... Because you can't take that plate off, you can't exactly wash it or throw in the dishwasher. You have to hand clean it. If you don't mind doing that, fine, but be aware that is something you're going to have to do.It takes a normal amount of time to cook the takoyaki and make it the way you want it, so that's cool. And they come out just fine, they taste great!Overall, I would say this is a pretty average machine for takoyaki. It's not great, it's not terrible. It's just kind of mid... I would be okay paying $20 for this, but seriously no more. It's a tad overpriced for what it is, but because the food comes out the way I want it, I don't mind paying the 30 some odd dollars.

Works great. Takes a little getting used to how much to fill and how much oil to use. But once you get the hang of it, it produces some some gorgeous Takoyaki... Or Ebiyaki in our case. You will want to make sure you are heavy on the oil so they will turn for you. Out of the gate the first batch, that was what we realized. I would also maybe use chop sticks or wooden scewers to turn them until you get used to it. The forks that come with it could scratch it, especially if you find that you didn't add enough oil and try to use it to loosen it. When ours wouldn't slide on their own with a nudge of the forks we immediately switched to wooden skewers. The next batch with more oil and less batter worked well. They all came out great and were yummy. No damage was done making them. But worth mentioning because we were a bit surprised they sent metal scewers as a tool for a Teflon coated unit. Good to mention this to the people in your family who love Ebiyaki but are not as aware of the fork to Teflon issue.The temperature control seems to be adequate as well. This is a really fun little device to have especially if you enjoy making various types of foods from all around the world. We do, so having appliances making this a little simpler, means we get to enjoy it more often! It really is super simple to make them. Again the trick is just adding enough oil and not too much batter. Don't be afraid to try this out! It's super fun for the family!