Panda Mini Rice Cooker

We bought this thinking it would be tiny, but it’s actually the perfect size for a household of two, more than enough for everyday meals. We mainly use it to cook Japanese short grain rice, and honestly, the result is amazing. The texture and flavour took us right back to Japan. The fuzzy logic settings work beautifully, and the rice comes out perfectly cooked every single time, no guesswork. It’s simple to use, the LED display is clear, and the ceramic bowl feels like real quality. One thing to note: the first time we used it, there was a faint plasticky smell (even though we washed the pot before cooking). I’m guessing it’s just the newness of the appliance, because it hasn’t come back since. Overall, this is a fantastic little rice cooker that delivers premium results without the price tag of a top-tier Japanese brand. Highly recommend!

I’ve been using the Panda Mini for about 2 months now, and it’s become one of my favourite kitchen gadgets. It might look cute, but it packs serious functionality. What I really like: Fluffy, consistent rice — No matter whether I’m cooking jasmine, basmati, or short grain, the fuzzy logic handles it beautifully. I rarely get undercooked or mushy rice. Easy to use — “Set and forget” is exactly what it feels like. Just add the rice and water, choose the setting, and it gets to work. Great fit for small households — With its 3.5-cup (uncooked) capacity, it’s ideal for 1–3 people. I don’t have to worry about large, unused portions. Keeps rice warm well — Even if dinner’s delayed, the “keep warm” function holds rice without drying it out. (This lines up with what others have observed too.) Easy cleanup — The Ninja ceramic inner bowl is nonstick and makes washing really simple. Nice extra functions — I often use the steam, porridge, or slow cook modes when I want more than just rice. What could be better / things I noticed: Cook times are not always fast — On “normal” mode it takes a while, so you need to plan ahead. (That said, there is a quicker mode, but results differ slightly.) Steam basket is shallow — When I try to steam a load of veggies, it’s not as roomy as I’d like. Others have mentioned the same limitation. Footprint in storage — It’s compact, but still has a bit of height, so I end up keeping it out on the counter. My verdict: For anyone cooking for one to three people (or just wanting perfect rice without fuss), this is a solid pick. It balances performance, convenience, and build quality well. It’s not flawless, especially if you push it with large steam loads or want blazing speeds, but for everyday use it delivers.

Excellent rice cooker --- spend the extra money for this over other brands. I did a lot of research and considered a number of options, but after reading many reviews, I decided to purchase this one. Easy to use and clean. Really good instructions and guidance included. Does an excellent job cooking various kinds of rice - and over 10 uses have all turned out perfectly. Nice that you can use timers, but also set it to cook and not worry about it, plus the "keep warm function."

Wish I got one of these sooner, makes the best Rice ever. I use to use a Pressure Cooker for cooking rice but this does it 10x better. We used 3 cups just to see how much we'd get for 2 people, and it was too much. Trust me the bowl and amount may look small but two cups is well enough for 2 people. It says it takes 40mins to cook Basmati Rice but it felt a lot quicker. You can stop it at anytime, but my only little niggle is once you stop it you cannot resume it with the timer, you have to set it to cook again and time yourself how much longer you want it to cook (this is if your adding things towards the end). But apart from that it's amazing and easy to use, also super easy to clean after each use.

I finally caved and got this little rice cooker after putting it off for a while. This compact gem is perfect for my tiny kitchen, approximately the size of a compact CD player, remember those? Suitable for preparing dishes for 1-3 people. I'd been worried that adding a rice cooker to my arsenal of Kitchen appliances would be a waste of money for a single use appliance. I was surprised to learn It's like the Swiss Army knife of rice cookers – not only does it nail rice dishes, but it also handles steamed meats, veggies, soups, stews, and even cakes. Yes, cakes! Who knew? I certainly didn't. The best part? It's ridiculously easy to use. I mean, if I can do it without calling for my mum for help, anyone can. Whether you're a kitchen novice, pressed for time or just tight on space, this versatile little guy is a game-changer. Highly recommend!

Thrilled with this purchase and did a maiden cook yesterday. The rice is quick and easy and delicious. The machine is compact and looks elegant on my counter. Takes up very little space and the instructions include suggestions as well as a quick start guide. My son is a rice devotee and will be using this regularly. Do not hesitate to add this to your kitchen?

As a single person, I had debated as to whether I needed an electric rice cooker, as I have a Sistema microwave cooker that does the job relatively well. I had seen numerous rice cooker recipes that looked divine, and I spent a year debating whether I could justify purchasing one. I had looked at reviews and saw some of the very high prices many rice cookers commanded, and I would have loved to buy the Sakura, but this Yum Asia Panda rice cooker consistently ranked highly in testing. When it came up on special recently, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. I was surprised by just how small the Yum Asia Panda is, i.e. a bit smaller than my slow cooker. It came with a measuring cup, a scoop spoon with a slot on the side to hold it, a rice bowl, and steamer insert. The rice bowl itself has the measurements marked on it for various types of rice, making it super easy to add the right amount of liquid per amount of rice. Once washed and assembled, I tried my first batch of Jasmine rice. I rinsed the rice four (4) times in cold water; my current brand being surprisingly starchy it seems. I turned on the cooker, selected white rice using the menu function, and it started, silently! Surprisingly, the cooker said it would take 40 minutes, which is much longer than my microwave cooker, which takes between 8 & 12 minutes. I could see steam rising from the designated outlet at the back, as it was supposed to. At the end of the cooking cycle, the warming function immediately kicked in. Upon opening the lid of my Panda, I found my rice cooked to absolute perfection, and it was easily broken up and served using the provided scoop. There was only a little bit of sticky starch to clean from the bowl after use, but no other mess whatsoever around the cooker or counter. The next time I cooked rice, I used the steamer basket for vegetables. Again, the result was perfection. Removing the steamer basket was a little difficult without getting burned, but I've learned to employ tongs to do so safely. I've since tried some of those rice cooker recipes and they've turned out just as expected - divine. Yes, it does take 40 minutes to cook rice; however, I've now learned to put the rice on, then start prepping and cooking the rest of my meal, and by the time that's done, my rice is cooked. I've also tried brown and basmati rice, and this little Panda has provided perfect results every time. Even pasta dishes can be cooked using my Panda. I've given away my Sistema microwave rice cooker. I love that selecting the various functions is intuitive, and the buttons are easy to press. The rice cooker and accessories are easily cleaned without a dishwasher. Admittedly, the little moisture collection basket is a little tricky to clean, but I have some straw brushes that do the job nicely. The internal lid is easily removable for cleaning, and clips back on without any fuss. Now I know why the Yum Asia Panda rice cooker gets such high praise in reviews. It is so worth the money!

Some months ago I purchased a cheap Argos rice steamer, but found it only cooked white rice. When I tried brown rice (experimenting with both short and long grain) - it couldn't cope with it. As I wanted to eat more brown rice (the healthier option) I checked the 'Which' rice cooker/steamer reviews and The Yum-Asia cooker had the best overall reviews of all the devices they evaluated, scoring excellent for Basmati rice quality, Wholegrain rice quality, Heat and steam control. So, I took a chance (as the Yum Asia is expensive and I am poor) and purchased one three weeks ago. Based on use so far, I hope this review is helpful if you are trying to make up your mind about model/cost. PROS: The Yum-Asia cooks brown rice (both long and short grain) beautifully, best I've ever managed at home. I've also experimented with other grains such as millet, barley and rolled oats (yep, I'm a grain eating vegetarian). The millet comes out amazingly well, delicious, creamy and sweet. My favourite so far. The barley tastes nice and nutty and the rolled oat porridge comes out amazingly well, again, the best porridge I've ever made at home. The manual that comes with the cooker offers basic guidelines for water/grain combinations but I've had to experiment a bit to get the grains to be the consistency I like. Another really useful feature is the Preset option. With this, you can set a timer so that the Yum-Asia 'switches' to life at a time in the future. In other words, you can put your grain and water etc into the bowel, closee the lid and set it to start cooking several hours ahead. Which means, I come home from work to freshly cooked brown rice and that motivates me to steam some veg etc and have a healthy evening meal, rather than turning to easy-cook convenience food. As the manual admits, the Preset isn't an exact science, you can't set the timer and expect the cooking cycle to finish at a precise minute and hour you want. It is more a rough estimate (give or take 20 - 30 mins depending on grain type, water level etc), but close enough in timer terms to make it very useful. You can find videos on YouTube which run through the basics of using the Yum-Asia if you find the manual a bit lacking in detail. CONS: No major negatives really. The steamer dish is quite small so you can't really steam much. I only used it twice then switched back to using my stove-top steamer, but that's okay as it has motivated me to get back to cooking more veg :-) (BTW, I had to watch a YouTube video to figure out how to steam at the same time as cooking grain as the manual isn't very clear on this, but you can do both at once). The only other slight negative (and this is slight because these components are integral to the functionality of such a good steamer) - is that there are a few bits you have to take care to clean after each use. Again, I had to find a YouTube video for a 'how-to' remove the inner metal disc that sits inside the lid. This needs washing every time you use the device. Also, don't make the mistake I made first couple of times, by taking the little 'condenser' dish out before all the drips of condensation have dribbled down from the lid when you open it after cooking! But these are not really problems because they contribute to the quality of the machine overall, they are just things I've learned to do/watch out for, through use. OVERALL: A game changer for rice and grain cooking, particularly wholegrain/brown rice/other grains. I've not used the 'slow-cooker' function but I've sure it will be as good. In summary, a big expense/investment for me but really worth the money as a motivation for eating healthier food more regularly. UPDATE: I've had the rice cooker for a couple of months now and it continues to be absolutely brilliant! In fact, I've forgotten what badly-cooked/soggy rice tastes like, I've become so used to perfectly cooked brown rice, millet, barley and porridge oats. It really encourages a healthier diet and the timer function is so handy for coming home to steaming hot perfect rice or grain. The Ninja bowl non-stick inner coating seems to be lasting really well, I use the cooker twice a day, but no sign of any scratches or marks, although I am very careful to only use the supplied plastic spatula to scoop out the cooked contents. The bowl is really easy to wash as the non-stick surface and automatically controlled cooking process means that it never has any burned food around the edges. Overall, really recommend this cooker, it is expensive, but you really, really get what you pay for. Also, I purchased a spare part directly from the UK Yum Asia website and initially there was a bit of a mix-up with the order and the wrong part arrived. However, Louise from the Customer Service department was really helpful, responded to my email within the hour (on a Saturday!) and by Monday morning, the correct part was in the post. So, excellent customer service support post-purchase too.