Need a great gift for someone special with a soft spot for Japanese cuisine? Here you can buy an automatic Takoyaki Factory Ton Ton cooker. Takoyaki, or “octopus balls,” are popular Japanese hors d’vours and can be quite difficult to cook properly - but not anymore! This little device flips each ball to cook them perfectly and evenly on all sides, but only if you time it right. There is a switch which starts a motor that will begin the flipping but if you do it too fast, they won’t turn over. Oh no!! It’s not fully automatic because you do have to pay attention to the timing. Does that make the Ton Ton a “glorified electric muffin pan”? Maybe, but show me a muffin pan that turns my desserts over for me in the oven!

Why stop at octopus? I’d love to try this machine with some chicken, vegetables, or even cheese! Yum! This is a party hostess must-have and a great conversation piece in the kitchen. I bet it would be great for parents with kids old enough to not get burned.

This product ships overseas, but it probably not in time for Christmas. For a cool $180 plus another $85 for shipping, you too can cook takoyaki easily.

Or skip all that cooking and spring for the Takoyaki 1GB USB Memory Stick.