Introduction:
Perhaps the most essential thing for someone living in
Korea who wants to start cooking at home is their own rice cooker. With it you
will be rid of the meticulous procedure of cooking rice in a normal kitchen pot
with all the water measuring, constant tending to check if the water is
evaporating and varied results every time. Cuckoo is one of the most famous brands
of rice cookers in Korea and the product is also made in Korea. Thus I chose
one of Cuckoo’s basic item lines which is suitable for up to three people http://english.11st.co.kr/product/SellerProductDetail.tmall?method=getSellerProductDetail&prdNo=148799762. If perfect rice every time is not enough for you,
check out this link on 21 amazing things that a rice cooker can provide for
you! http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/surprising-things-you-can-make-in-a-rice-cooker
About 11Street marketplace:
While looking for an online store to order the rice
cooker from, my choice fell on 11Street http://english.11st.co.kr/html/en/main.html since they had one of the lowest prices for the
actual item. 11Street was founded in 2008 and is one of Korea’s biggest online
marketplaces. Being a part of SK Planet, 11Street placed at the top of
different customer satisfaction indexes and thus is sure to leave you a happy
customer which it did me. 11Street connects the buyer and seller and therefore
increases the security of the transaction for both parts. The website is
remarkable since it is one of the few Korean online marketplaces which have a
full English version and you could easily do your whole transaction without any
Korean proficiency. From personal experience, the English telephone customer
service is also very good. They answered my phone call within seconds and
helped to answer any questions I had.
Order and delivery:
While searching for any item of interest, the potential
customer can first filter the items based on category (in this case “Small
appliances” – “Rice Cooker” – “Cuckoo”) but you can sort by price, release date, popularity and items suggested by 11Street. Most of the products have customer reviews with pictures and a grading system helped me choose the right rice cooker for my needs. My choice fell on http://english.11st.co.kr/product/SellerProductDetail.tmall?method=getSellerProductDetail&prdNo=148799762 and with a satisfaction level of 99% and 1,196 customer reviews I sure had
enough material to browse before deciding to place the order. Some products are
available for international shipping and the delivery fee is easy to see in the
product description. For every product you can also see the average delivery
period within Korea which was an impressive 0.8 days, and indeed the rice
cooker was delivered safe, sound and rapidly to my home. You can follow the
whole delivery process and track your package ID all the way from the seller to
your home which gave me a sense of security with the purchase. Should there be
any issue with the delivery you can report it conveniently online.
Point and mileage system:
11Street also has a reward system where you get
mileage for every purchase you make which can be used as a discount on later
purchases. You may also charge points with cash or gift friends’ and relatives’
user accounts with a point gift card. Finally, 11Street often has different
online events where you might get points for certain product categories or for
a limited amount of time or even do a lucky draw and win loads of points!
Product review (Appearance):
The 3-person cooker comes in red or green color and
for a small extra fee you can get a bigger 6 or 10-person cooker in pink, red
or purple. The machine is sleek, feels sturdy with its plastic touch and stands
firmly on the surface. At the top there is a vent for steam to evaporate and
the metal plate just above the boiling rice easily comes off with a snap and is
washable by hand. The box comes safely packed with a rice spatula, measuring
cup, manual etc. Be aware that the manual is all in Korean but with the
simplicity of the cooker and all the pictures included in the manual, this
should pose no problem whatsoever.
Product review (Functionality): 
First of all, the Cuckoo rice cooker places in the 1st
(best) grade group on the energy efficiency scale and is said to consume 259Wh
for one batch of rice. This simple and minimalistic cooker has four buttons
which read “Keep warm/Cancel”, “Pre-set cooking/Hour”, “Cook/Idle heat” and “Menu/Minute”.
There are presettings for e.g. white rice, brown rice and porridge and it is
extremely easy to navigate the menus. Even when the cooker is not plugged into
the electric socket, it still shows the current time. During my tests, cooking
about 2 cups (measured with the included plastic cup) took about 20-30 minutes.
A neat function is that after the rice is done it automatically goes to the “keep
warm” mode and shows how many hours ago the rice was cooked. This is very
practical since according to what I have heard you should try to consume the
rice within about 24 hours.
The included
rice pot has markings for the water level corresponding to the amount of white
rice put in. As you can see the amount of water is different for white rice,
porridge and grain/unpolished rice. Finally, the cooker and its parts are all
easy to clean and the way to do it is described in the manual.
Product review (Conclusion):
For anyone who wants a basic rice cooker with perfect
results every time for a household of perhaps 1-3 people, this is the choice
for you! Weighing in at a price of 56,030 won it might not be the absolutely
cheapest one on the market but surely the most bang for the buck. The safe and
detailed delivery tracking system at 11Street kept me calm through every step
of the delivery and I am certain I will be returning to 11Street for future
purchases.
