The Rubdown

News & Deals: Massage and pampering for a good cause at YWCA

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...

I was over at the YWCA this week on Macdonnell Road for their spring bazaar, and found out the YWCA has a new program called the Serenity Wellness and Massage Center. This is a "social enterprise," meaning it's a venture set up to train people to work and create jobs for them. Trained masseuses from the center were on hand to give demos of their skills. I got a 20-minute shoulder and head massage for $50, and am eager to go back for a full session. There is something doubly good about getting a rub down and knowing that you're helping people get back into the working world. According to the staff member I spoke with, right now they have four employees working at the center, though there are more graduates of the program who can be called in to help at busy hours.

The center is located on the 2nd floor of the YWCA building at 38C Bonham Road. Map. The website, though, wasn't working when I last checked. They're open from noon until 9 p.m. Phone is 2915 5622. They are having some opening specials through June 30th: 30 minute head and shoulder massage ($78), 45-minute aromatherapy food massage ($108), and 45-minute acupressure body massage ($158) -- good prices for that neighborhood. I haven't yet seen the center, so if you go and check it out, let us know what you think!

The center is part of a wider effort at vocational training by the Hong Kong government and nonprofit groups. If Bonham Road is too far for you to go for a rub down, try this list of other social venture massage and hair dressing parlors. And if you've been to any of them and can recommend some, let us know!

http://www.social-enterprises.gov.hk/file_manager/pdf/directory/SE%20Directory_Eng_Graphic_05.pdf

Review: Mee Panda Beauty -- Cheapest Massage in Central?

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).

Review: Darha Spa, Central

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...

There's a new spa in town -- Darha Spa in Central -- so I popped over this weekend to check it out. Tucked away on the ninth floor of an office building on Queen's Road Central near H&M, it's a sister branch to the original Darha Spa in Khon Kaen in northeastern Thailand.

Since Darha Spa bills itself as a place that will "bring you the true Thai spa experience," I booked (what else?) a 60-minute Thai massage. When I arrived at 7 p.m. on Sunday, the place was empty, but the staff was exceptionally friendly without being obsequious. It's obvious that the proprietors put some effort into the decor, outfitting the reception area with dark-wood furniture, live orchids and Thai art. The receptionist offered me tea or water, and brought my drink on a rattan tray along with a cool towel to refresh my face. She requested that I fill out a short questionnaire inquiring about my health, allergies, and preferences during the massage (light, medium or hard pressure).

For my treatment I was led into a dimly lit private room decorated with Thai textiles and artwork; soothing music at low volume set a relaxing mood. After I changed into a set of loose pajamas, my masseuse guided my bare tootsies into a large dark wooden bowl of warm water, added flower petals, slices of lime and salt to the bath and gave my feet a quick cleaning. It was a nice touch. Then it was on to the massage.

Traditional Thai massage does not use oil, and rather than rubbing or long strokes, the technique is more about pressing and stretching. After a hard workout at the gym the day before, my muscles were quite sore, and the masseuse seemed to home in on my aching shins and quads. Methodically, she worked up and down my spine, paying particular attention to my shoulder blades, as I had noted on the questionnaire when I arrived. After 35 minutes, she flipped me over, and attended to the front of my legs, stretching them into various positions. Then back up to my arms, shoulders, neck and back, pressing deep into the tissue. Clambering over me to pull my limbs into various stretches, I think she got as much of a workout massaging me as I had gotten the day before at the gym!

What was booked as a 60-minute massage in fact lasted about 70 minutes, not including the footbath. Dressed and back in the reception area, I was greeted with a small goblet of fresh melon balls and a glass of water. The receptionist asked me to fill out a survey about the treatment and seemed sincerely concerned with my satisfaction.

Since Darha Spa is new, they're running a "grand opening" special -- 30% off all treatments. So my massage, priced on the menu at $450, was instead $315 -- a good value for a competent massage in a nice atmosphere with a friendly, English-speaking staff. The special is on at least through the end of the month, and in February they'll be offering a Valentine's Day deal: bring a friend/partner and get 50% off on two treatments.

The list of services at Darha is quite extensive: Besides Thai, they offer Swedish, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, hot stone, shiatsu, Ayuvedic, and sports massages, as well as manicures, pedicures, hairstyling and makeup application. Their more elaborate treatments include body scrubs, facials, a "four hands" massage with two therapists, and even a "virginity" massage that promises to "reinvigorate your sexual awareness" and "make you feel like a virgin again" (45 minutes, $550). Hmm. Maybe something to think about for the Valentine's Day special...

Darha's normal prices are by no means cheap, but the 30-50% discounts on offer seem to be a good deal. If you check them out, write in with your experience and we'll let others know what you think -- we're dying to hear how the virginity massage goes!

Darha Spa, Parker House, 9th Floor, 72 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong. Map. 2140 6311

www.darhaspa.com/Hk/

darhaspa@gmail.com