Neohome Houseware

The earlier reviews were very accurate so I won’t repeat all of that now. I would note that this is not the only housewares store on or near Spadina so it isn’t the only game in town. The selection of «stuff» downstairs is not matched anywhere else I visited.
Personally i was looking for decorative, ceramic Chinese soup spoons and they offered two styles for a price that was not going to be matched.

Neohome was the only place in Toronto that carried the particular brand/​model of rice cooker I had researched and was ready to buy (the Sanyo ECJ-​S35S — it bakes bread, too!).
Downstairs you’ll find a pleasantly crowded series of aisles of imported, er, stuff: zany character pens and stationery kits, branded computer keyboards, animatronic Chinese holiday displays, cheap kitchen electronics and housewares (bowls, utensils, scissors, etc.). Pretty much standard Chinatown fare, although the staff was particularly cheerful.
We browsed here for a few minutes before heading upstairs, where you’ll find the «fancier» wares: higher-​end rice cookers, electric kettles, woks, dehydrators, etc. They carry a good range of Zojirushi, Panasonic, and Sanyo rice cookers, and are priced comparably to what I’ve seen online — and much cheaper than Sanko on Queen St. W.
They carry the 3-​cup Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy cooker, which was my second choice, but it’s $ 300 — probably more than I’ll spend on rice in my lifetime.
There are several shelves devoted to obscure single-​function appliances (bibimbap cookers!) and «magic» all-​in-​one cookers that steam, fry, bake, boil, and walk your dog, too. Perfect for a student with a tiny kitchen (or no kitchen and just a power outlet and water source!) and tiny budget, but probably not worth replacing your stand mixer/​coffeemaker/​toaster over/​food processor for.
There are also porcelain bowls and utensils — nicer than what’s available downstairs, but still pretty cheap — and, most interestingly, quite a lot of plastic and rubber organizational bins. I’ll be back for the big pink rice and flour tubs!
Found what we were there for quickly and the friendly cashier lady opened the box so I could inspect it and make sure all the pieces were there since the corner of the box was damaged (I’m guessing that’s how they get some of their appliance stock). Everything was fine. The price was about on par with online retailers (maybe a little more expensive), but none ship this model to Canada anyway, hence my trip to Neohome.
Warranties: She explained that Neohome offers a one-​year warranty on appliances as long as you hold on to your receipt (which reiterates the policy, although it doesn’t indicate what is covered or how). I think many of the producs Neohome carries have country-​specific warranties that don’t include Canada. I’m a bit of a warranty stickler, so that was really going out on a limb for me!
We’ll see how they handle it if my little rice cooker has any problems in the next year.
All in all, a good experience. The staff was helpful, friendly, and attentive and the store was well-​stocked with inexpensive, fun, and useful housewares. They had what they claimed to carry online and accepted Visa.

This store represents all things that are awesome in Chinatown. They carry a bunch of weird, random kitchen items that you would have originally found in Japan, but then were knocked off in China and imported here.
You’ll wander through here and think, «Wow, that _​_​_​_​_​is ridiculous. Who would have ever thought to do such a thing? I think I NEED it.» If this place doesn’t get you for entertainment purposes, you will definitely find something useful and cheap — I got my amazing dish-​drainer here along with some Hello Kitty plastic hangers for under $ 5.
If you walk by this place, stop in and take a look — if anything, you’ll get a couple good laughs out of it.