I purchased this rice cooker on advice of the nursing staff at the hospital where I was on staff. The Asian ladies kept a huge rice cooker going 24/7, and many a day, when Labor & Delivery got really busy, that was all we got a chance to eat. Rice with some soy sauce kept us going.
Having been raised in Louisiana and eating rice almost everyday, I was amazed at how this rice cooker kept rice warm & ready to eat all the time, without the hassle of cooking in a pot. I decided then & there to get one for myself, and the nurses suggested Tiger brand as the most reliable. At that time they were hard to find in regular stores, so off I went to an Asian store & bought one.
I have never been so happy with a small appliance! Even my husband, who had to learn from me how to cook a reasonable pot of rice, now can cook rice to perfection.
Nothing has gone wrong with this cooker in all these years, but I will be upgrading to a slightly larger one, as I need more than a 4-cup cooker when there is company to feed.Oh yes--it is also very easy to clean, and I am almost obsessive about kitchen cleanliness.
Another thing that I learned with this cooker is if I have leftover rice in the refrigerator or even freezer, it is so easy to warm it right up in the cooker. I just dump it in, add a small amount of water & turm it to cook--so there's no watching, no stuck-to-the-pot rice, and no mushy rice from overcooking.
The only problem is that now I need a new non-stick insert, as mine is slightly scratched where people used regular spoons to dish up the rice. These I have only found at [...], they cost $59 and are out of stock at present. But my rice still doesn't stick to the pot & it is still easy to clean.
When I do purchase my next rice cooker / warmer, it will be a Tiger. Why should I experiment, when this has worked so well for me for so many years? This current rice cooker will retire to AZ to winter with my husband when I get a new one. I only hope the newer models hold up as well as mine has.