Morino Kaze

I walk past this place called Morino Kaze in Bangsar Telawi quite a lot but never got the chance to check it out. Today was the day.

I decided to walk in to try something.. I didnt know what to try but when I saw the promotion that says they have a Chinese New Year promotion, RM28 for 30 minutes back massage, I think it would be silly not to try. Dont you think so?

I was greeted by this guy, must be one of the workers there and he spoke very little English. I couldnt guess his accent, whether it was Japanese or Chinese. Anyhow, I walked in and asked for a 30 minutes back massage.

I was told to take off my shoes and wait inside. The lady in front said she will take care of my shoes i.e keep it in the cabinet or wherever but then, she just left it there! What if someone steals them or something... ?

I waited for awhile for my therapist to be ready so I went to the washroom first. When I got out of the toilet, this malay looking lady guided me to my room. She didnt say a word but just she left me in there. I didnt know what the hell I was suppose to do. Lie down? Change? or what? I wanted to change but I didnt see anything to change to, and since the lady in front told me that they wont be using any oil, I thought maybe I dont have to change. The malay looking lady left me there for quite some time and then I started thinking, perhaps I am supposed to change?~

And then she came in and was quite surprised that I still had my clothes on. Well duh!! She didnt tell me that I had to change pun!
Then I asked her if I have to take off my top, to which she said yes. OK fine, so I did. She also asked me to take off my pants and I said I dont want to. I mean, what the hell for since it's only a back massage. Then she said she needs to put oil so my pants might get dirty. Hang on, didnt the lady say no oil? I said I dont want her to use oil so I didnt need to take off my pants. Not that I mind but just malas.

The massage was quite good actually. She started the massage with "Bismillahirohmanirahim". So ok, she must be muslim then.
The pressure was good, very strong pressure just like how I like it. I must say that I was really happy with the massage although I think it she had used oil it would have been better. And better if it was a full body massage instead of just a back massage.

After the massage, I asked her for her name. I asked her in English and her reply was "Indonesia". So obviously this girl doesnt understand English.
In the end she said "Sulastri 44" ok. I guess that's her name and her code number or whatever.

For RM28 it's damn bloody worth it.

They offer all sorts of massage there include foot massage, ear candling and also fish theraphy although it doesnt look so exciting. The place is ok, nothing too fancy. It's clean and simple, which is good.

From the outside, it does look a bit like a Japanese type of spa but I dont think it is as I dont see any Japanese style of treatment on the menu book. I guess it's the same as any other or the spa next door to it. But I think I will come back to try the full body massage with miss 44!

If you're interested, here are the details

Morino Kaze
Bangsar Telawi (few doors away from Telawi Bistro)
Tel: 03-3388 1916

Enjoy...

Mandi Bunga or Floral Bath

I read in a magazine once that floral bath is good for you as it can refresh your mind and body. I’ve heard of it before but have never tried it before. Well, I have tried it at the spa but they don’t really use a lot of flowers. I’m curious and interested to try it myself.
D-I-Y at home experiment.

I found so many websites with different techniques to prepare for mandi bunga. Some are a bit OTT. I’m actually looking for a simple, easy and straight forward technique. Something I can easily do myself at home. I heard it’s good, especially few months before getting married to get good aura.

HOW?
1.Select flowers that are fully bloom. 7 types of flowers such as roses (white and red), jasmine, lilies, purple orchid. You may also choose other types of flowers with nice scent and represent the colours of rainbow.
2. Add kaffir lime leaves( daun limau purut) and pomelo (daun limau bali)if possible.
3.Soak the flower under the sun for about 3 to 4 hours in a glass container. (optional)
4. Soak the flowers in ur tub for 15mins and then jump in to enjoy the bath for another 15 minutes.
5. Take a cold shower to rinse off

Wallaaa...there you go... D-I-Y mandi bunga....

I think I want to try it this weekend...

Energised @ Energy Day Spa Mont Kiara

I desperately wanted to try a spa in Jakarta but the schedule of my trip was too packed that we didn’t have time for a pampering session. Both my mum and I planned to go to a spa there (we even found the ‘area’ where the good spas are at) but unfortunately, we were too busy shopping that we just couldn’t fit it in our tight schedule. Well, perhaps next time.

So when I came back the first thing on my mind was to spend some time at the spa.
I decided to go back to Energy Day Spa in Mont Kiara. I consider myself a regular there cuz I’ve been there more than 3 times now within 6 months. I really love it there.

I called to make an appointment for a full body spa but unfortunately, their steam room and bath is not working so they can only do body scrub and massage. That’s fine, better than nothing, right?

The body scrub was really good. Sea salt scrub and my body feels silky smooth after the scrub. The body massage was also really good. I was really tired and I fell asleep. By the time I got up from the sleep it was almost over. I wish they do 2 hours or 3 hours massage, that would have been fantastic!

I went for the massage on Tuesday and it’s Thursday today. I already feel like going back for another round of massage. I love the place, it's really cozy and the view is nice overlooking the pool of the apartment next to the spa.
Joe prefers the Ampang branch. Well, it's bigger there and also nice there with nice view but I personally feel that the therapist in Mont Kiara is better.

Anyways,
I’m addicted to this. I want a job doing this everyday. That would be perfect..

After spa, we had dinner at the restaurant downstairs called Bijou. I love the food there so much. Be sure to try the grilled prawns starter and also try their Seabass. It’s really to die for…

I love this…

Escentials Urban Retreat, Starhill

I badly need a massage and since I had to pick up something from Starhill, I decided to go for a massage in Starhill. Might as well right?

I didnt know which spa to go to in Starhill and after walking around, I decided to give ....... a go.

They had a special promotion going on until end of this month if you use the Ambank Platinum/Gold credit card. Fantastic.

The massage was one half hour and costs RM288 but with the special promotion, you buy one, you get one free. So basically it was half price :)

The place is amazing. I love the colour and the decor of the spa. Very posh and very elegant. It was bloody freezing in there tho.
The room was nice too.

First we were given a form to fill up. They need to know if you have any special needs/requirements or if you have any illness that they should know etc.
We were also given a hot towel and fruit tea before we start our treatment.

Then we were directed to our room and given disposable underwear and a set of kimono to change. Once we got changed, we were told you lie on the bed facing down and then the treatment started. I think the bed was somewhat heated cuz it felt really nice and warm and so comfortable.

My therapist was good too. Pressure was excellent and technique was superb. I didnt want it to end. It was a combination of pressure point massage and relaxation massage. I was in heaven.

It was a good deal for the price we paid. I wanna go back again to try something else. To me, this was definitely a good experience but only thing was, it was too short. One and half hours massage is not long enough for me. They didnt spend that much time on my back, which was a pity cuz it was soo good that I wish it was longer!

I really cant wait to go back.

If you are interested, pls call for appointment.
My therapist's name is Aminah. She is good and I highly recommend her...
Joe's therapist name is Carynn. He said she's excellent too.

Escentials Urban Retreat
Starhill
Tel: 03-21483288

Dont forget to bring your Ambank Credit Card along.
It's worth it.

Cozy®, Jakarta

I was in Jakarta few weeks back and was looking for the place called Cozy since the first day I got there. I had such a great experience in Bali at Cozy so I couldnt wait to try the branch in Jakarta.

I stayed at Ascott and asked them if they heard of Cozy. They told me that they've heard of the place but have no clue where it is. They even tried looking for it in the phone book and internet but it was not registered under that name so they couldnt find it.

I was quite disappointed.
And then I remembered that I kept the leaflet from Bali and it is still in my bedroom at home. So I phoned my mum in KL and told her to search for the leaflet. She found it and gave me the telephone number in Jakarta.

Yeay!!!!!

It was quite hard to find the place. Luckily the driver had some idea how to get there. The area was quite dodgy actually. Like half kampung and half town kinda thing. But when I got there, it looked the same as the Bali branch. Signboards and colour of the place and the feel is the same.

First they asked me what kind of treatment that I want.
Then they asked me what kind of music I'd like to hear and gave me the ipod.
Next they asked me if I wanted any drink/juice.

I asked for:

1. 1 half hours of foot massage. It was da BOMB! Loved every minute of it.
2. Since I was in Jakarta, I asked for Indonesian song cuz I'm sure they're nice
2. I also ask for Ginger and Honey tea

I had the best time ever and didnt want it to end. It was exactly like Bali.
I love every minute of it.

To top that, I also discovered this Indonesian artist called Afgan. The ipod was playing his song. I've never heard of this dude before but now I know an Indonesian song that I like. :)

Cant wait to come back....but perhaps, Bali is a better location...

Vino Therapie @ Energy Day Spa, Ampang

It's the time for Spa again and this time I decided to go back to Energy Day Spa. I think I quite like it there. So I called the Spa in Mont Kiara to make an appointment but unfortunately, they were fully booked. When it's time for Spa, I really cannot wait even for another day so I decided to call the Ampang branch instead. It's at the Great Eastern Mall. Thankfully, they had a slot available.

I opted to try the Vino Therapie Renewal which is a spa package that uses products made from extracts of red grapes. It is meant to be good for detox and anti ageing.

Treatment:

1. 10 minutes in the steam room - Was nice as usual
2. An hour of body scrub and mask - I didnt enjoy the scrub at all but the mask was those really cool ones where they wrap you in this super warm blanket. Felt quite good actually
3. An hour massage - It was alright, nothing to shout about
4. Finally the grape foot bath - Which was no big deal

All the above for RM638 per couple.

Verdict:

Well, overall it was an average experience for me. I really didnt like the scrub cuz I felt like it wasnt as thorough as I was expecting. The mask was pretty cool. It was nice and warm. The massage was ok but not great. I fell asleep tho, so it must be pretty ok. I didnt understand the foot bath at all. I dont see why they included that in the package cuz it was really nothing. Just soak our feet in there and that was it.

The place was really nice tho. I like the decor and all that. It's bigger than the Mont Kiara branch. I think I still prefer to go back to Mont Kiara cuz the place is small and really cozy.

But this was not that bad. I will probably go back but not to do this treatment again.Perhaps something else....

Ear Candling

I had breakfast at La Bodega one morning and walked past CN Beauty. They had all sorts of promotion going on and I decided to step inside to see what they have.

They do all sorts of things there. From facial to massage to whatever, you name it, they do it.

I spent almost half an hour with the beautcian. She was telling me about some facial treatments that they have that will be good for me. Maybe I will give it a go someday.

They also do ear candling and since I wanted to do something, why not this?
With the promotion that they have going on now, it will only cost me RM50!

The whole thing was alright. I've done it before so it's nothing new to me.
You basically just need to lie down and they'll massage your neck and ears. At the end of the session you are supposed to feel 'lighter' and better.

Hmmm...did I?
Well, not really. I feel the same but it's still good to know that I've done something good for myself today.