Please Note: Fans of this blog, please see our new site at www.therubdown.hk. Here you can see our reviews, and you'll be able to search for spas and massage parlors too! We welcome collaborators, suggestions, questions and comments. Email us at therubdownhk@gmail.com! Now on with the show...
OK folks, listen up! You want a good cheap massage in Central? I defy you to do better than the deal I got today at Mee Panda Beauty. Almost 90 minutes, $99. Yes, that's Hong Kong dollars!
Let's be clear about one thing: You're not going to Mee Panda for the atmosphere. You're going for the all-business Thai rubdown from Jo, the proprietress, who learned her technique from her Thai mother-in-law, who's got 35 years of experience.
Jo, as it turns out, also speaks good English and will chat your ear off hairdresser-style with stories of old Hong Kong, Thai ghost tales, health advice (Coke is bad for you bones, drink milk) and how she became a mother for the second time at age 39. But if you want to zone out, doze off or watch TV (she's got HBO in the house), she'll zip it and just work you over.
Mee Panda is a basic shop with blue carpet, 2 massage chairs, and a room for body massage. You want decorations? Four stuffed pandas will have to suffice. When I got there, Jo's two-year-old was playing in front of the TV; a caregiver hustled her off to a back room while I settled in for my 50-minute foot + shoulder massage.
Jo brought me a footbath, let me soak for about 10 minutes, and served jasmine tea and some crackers. Then she set to work on my feet and shins. She sterilized her hands with alcohol first, then rubbed me with some vitamin E cream. Her technique is largely knuckle work, verging on the painful at times, but she'll back off if you tell her to. She also uses a small wooden stick to administer pressure on specific points, such as on your arch and between your toes. To enhance the relaxation, she also slathered on a mentholatum-like Thai warming balm (which she washed off later, so I didn't leave smelling like my grandpa). She spent half an hour on each of my legs, and that was after the 10-minute footbath. At the end she cleaned my feet again, and finished it all off with some foot powder.
But wait, there's more! Once my feet were done, I got another 15 minutes or so of neck, shoulder and arm massage.
Jo says she's busiest during weekdays because most of her clients are office workers in Central. So don't expect any overtime Monday-Friday. But drop in on a weekend, like I did, and if no one else is waiting you may get some bonus minutes. I walked in at 1:30 and walked out at 3 p.m. and spent $99. (That's not including tip, which I did actually add on because of the great and friendly service). Given that under the escalators near Hollywood Road I see several shops asking $130 for a 30-minute foot massage, Mee Panda is a bargain and it's right in the heart of it all.
Have you been to Mee Panda? Drop us a comment about your experience!
Mee Panda Beauty Co., 13 Queen Victoria Street, First Floor, Central. Map.
Daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
2521 8252 (reservations accepted).
Comments