
Is there anything better than breakfast for dinner? Well, okay, that’s a silly question. Obviously nothing is better than night-time breakfast–pretty much everyone would agree that sitting down to a plate full of pancakes drenched in syrup at 7 pm is simply awesome. And the best thing about breakfast-as-dinner is that it’s easy to make! Pancakes, eggs, bacon–all easy to throw together without much culinary skill needed.
But sometimes even flipping a pancake is just too much work. Thankfully, Roky – a machine that produces pancakes in the shape of popsicles – ensure that you needn’t lift a finger when ignoring basic dietary advice.
Usually your choices for pancake shapes are circles, Pikachu, cat paws, or rice cooker. Sure, you might be able to get some Mickey Mouse pancakes at Disneyland or something that looks more like a hockey puck if I’m the one cooking, but the general theme is flat, round, and plate-sized. You certainly wouldn’t sit down at IHOP or Denny’s and expect them to bring out a popsicle of a pancake, would you?
▼Probably not…Roky can’t even get people to eat them in the advertisements.
Even so, Roky, a new pancake-cooking device from E-Balance Co, LTD., produces exactly that for you or anyone who is so bad at cooking that they can be trusted with a skillet and a spatula. It’s the perfect late-night infomercial product! Can’t you just imagine confused actors flopping helplessly around a kitchen and looking frustrated while hungry children cry in the background?
“Are you tired of failing to make breakfast? Can’t be bothered standing long enough to ensure your frying pan doesn’t catch fire?” asks a concerned voiced over. “Well, if so, here’s Roky!”
▼”Safe and worry-free!”
Who feels unsafe making pancakes?!
But we have to admit, the device, which looks a bit like a coffee thermos, certainly seems pretty easy to use: Mix up some batter while Roky heats up, pour in a bit of oil followed by the batter, drop a stick in the middle, and then eight to 10 minutes later pull out a hot, fluffy pancake-sicle! Advertisements for Roky also mention that it’s possible to make an “eggroll” by pouring eggs into the device instead of batter.
At nearly 6,000 yen (about US$60) though, you might have to seriously consider just how many stick pancakes you can eat in a lifetime. If each one takes 10 minutes to prepare, it’s probably faster to just learn how to flip a pancake!
Roky also comes with special cleaning supplies and, for a limited time, pancake mix as well, so at least it’s a complete set. Though we’d probably rather spend the money pudding ramen. It’s a lot cheaper…and probably quicker too.





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