Teratak Spa, Bayan Baru, Penang

Sometimes, it kind of bad knowing too much. It makes us too cautious and skeptical on little, little details. Like when I was with Ministry of Housing, though it saved me from buying property from scrupulous developer, it took me about 7 years to invest in one. The same goes here in Ministry of Tourism when I had to rate hotels and spas in preparation for the Visit Malaysia Year 2013 as well as to move the Malaysia Tourism Transformational Plan - 2020:36:168. Some hotels that I had rated, looks good on the outside but sekali you go to the kitchen .... you want to pengsan.

However, on the bright side, at least you are ensured that company practised good quality assurance in their services while keeping up with competition and latest trends. Having said that ... I am still skeptical hahaha. Takut masa rating jer "fabulous" and "marvelous", habis rating ... lagi teruk dari hotel cap ayam hahahaha ...

Anyway, I want to share my personal experience with one of the spas that I had rated and in which I think deserve to be promoted by me. By the way, the lady boss doesn't know that I own a blog and going to blog about her spa as whenever I went there for "short breakaway from the office" ...she was not around.

The entrance to Teratak Spa

Teratak Spa is actually a double storey, corner lot house which was converted into a spa sanctuary in the residential area of Bayan Baru. It is actually quite near to the Bandar Bayan Baru roundabout heading towards Bukit Jambul, but most people missed it from the roundabout because there are huge trees planted by Penang Council blocking the view.

All the lush tropical greens in the garden greeting you as you enter the spa compound.

The spa concept in my opinion is a mixture of Balinese and Javanese, from the spa deco to the treatments offered. However, I was very happy when she incorporated some local elements in the deco such as spice tray (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, star anise), rattan casings, "mengkuang" mat and bunga rampai (a Malay pot-purri). The owner also created a special brew of ginger tea with nutmeg essence that was quite calming and soothing (though slightly spicy) as a welcome drink before you go for your treatment.

The bunga rampai

To be honest, when it come to massage ... I am a great fan of Thai massage by Thai masseurs. It is something about the massage technique and how they applied pressure from using their thumb or palm. Every time I went back to Kuala Lumpur, I will definitely indulged myself with a nice massage at Thai Odyssey. Sometimes, I will go to Urban Retreat at The Curve@Mutiara Damansara. I did try some local spa centres who engaged local therapists before but ... memang kureng lah.

But on that fateful day, I was actually having very stiff neck and back pain due to fatigue, stress and lack of sleep/rest. Coincidentally, that month ... there was no trip to KL. Cannot "tahan" anymore, I called up the spa for a short session during long Friday prayer break. The therapist on duty recommended me to try the 1 hour Swedish massage after a brief consultation. That time I didn't care anymore ... Swedish kah, Thai kah, Malaysian kah ... as long as it could relieve the pain and make me feel relax I am OK. She also recommended "cream bath" to go with the massage.

 

The treatment bed and some insight on the treatment room.

Cream bath hair treatment is actually a traditional Indonesian hair treatment to promote hair growth, elasticity and prevent damaged hair. The treatment usually uses ingredients such as coconut milk, mint leaves, aloe vera and sometimes avocado, which is applied to your hair and scalp with a light head massage. I tried it for the first time at Taman Sari Spa Jakarta and love it so much. My hair smelled coconutly terrific for days.

Most of treatment rooms come with a bath tub and built in shower.

Rain shower ... I love rain shower. The rustic wall is cement by the way.

I also love the fact that Teratak Spa use quality clean towels and proper massage bed ... among the plus points I gave them during my rating session. The treatment room was clean and tidy, with proper locker to keep your things. During rating session, I usually give special attention to the preparation area and product storage especially if the spa is using natural ingredients such as fresh fruits, yoghurts or coconut milk in their treatment. And Teratak Spa scored high marks in those area.

Anyway, lets move to the most important part - the treatment. Was it worth the money spend? To be honest, it was fantastic. I started dozing off during the cream bath treatment which was unexpectedly minty cold by the way, followed by a very relaxing Swedish massage with the right pressure on the right points on my body.  Seriously ... that was the first time I enjoyed a massage by a local therapist so so much.  Overall, it costs me about RM 170.00 for a 1 and half hour session of massage and cream bath hair treatment. But I really, really enjoyed it and truly recommended it to all tired and stressful ladies out there. I went there twice and both times it was excellent.


Address:
No. 31 Jalan Tun Dr Awang,
11950 Bayan Baru, Penang.

Telephone: 04-6444121

Scents of A Woman

When it comes to perfume, I am the type that usually stick to one or two scents. Not the adventurous type. Even if I buy new perfumes of a different brand, I will usually stick to certain notes, usually musk, rose and vanilla, sometimes bergamot. So far there are two perfumes that I will buy again and again. One is Boss Intense for Woman by Hugo Boss (2003) and the limited edition Forever and Ever by Christian Dior (2006). Both have musk, rosy and vanilla notes in it.

Certain articles in the magazine said that certain scent is associated with certain meaning so I searched the Internet for some explanation. Here are some that I found:

Love, Companionship & Relationship

The scents of apple, cinnamon, clove, copal, gardenia, jasmine, lavender, musk, orange, patchouli, peppermint, rain, rose, vanilla, white jasmine, and ylang ylang essential oil signify the different aspects of a relationship, such as love, companionship, affection and adoration.

Goals, Gains, Money & Success

The scents that signify material success, along with money, profits and aims, include the fragrance of allspice, almond, bergamont, basil, cinnamon, clover, dill, honeysuckle, lemon, pine, red ginger and sage essential oils.

Protection, Harmony & Well Being

Signifying the overall harmony of a person are the scents of angelica, basil, bay, bayberry, carnation, cinnamon, clove, coconut, dill, dragon's blood, eucalyptus, frankincense, gardenia, geranium, heather, juniper, lilac, myrrh, narcissis, sandalwood and violet essential oils.

Inspiration, Psychic Awareness & Intuition

If you are looking for essential oils with scents that signify inspiration, psychic awareness and intuition; anise, cedar, chamomile, cinnamon, eucalyptus, frankincense, green tea, lavender, lemongrass, lime, lotus, musk, myrrh, peppermint, pine, rosemary, sandalwood, and valerian essentials oils will be the best bet.

Fuyooo .... my favourite scents are all associated with LOVE... hmmm, what's that suppose to mean arrr?

Usually I will shop for perfumes at the KLIA Duty Free Emporium. Although there are many designer's brands that I could pick and choose, I found myself inclined towards these two brands. Not only that, Forever and Ever by Christian Dior perfumes are only sold at airport duty free emporiums. I even sensed the different when they repackage it somewhere in 2008.

In between I bought other brands of perfume, usually due to mood factor or gatal nak beli but I usually couldn't finish the whole bottle. Yes, what a waste.The few other brands that I manage to finish the whole bottle are the fresh and citrusy Escada Ocean Blue, Body Shop Rogueberry and Loccitane Vanilla (discontinued and made me heartbroken) . Anyway, I always find Channel, Christian Dior and Hugo Boss fragrances never disappointing. Seductive, sexy and timeless gitew huhuhu ... Tak seksi rupa takpe, asalkan diri rasa seksi pun cukup lah!

Some perfumes that I own are gifts from friends and colleagues, like Estee Lauder Emerald Dream, CK Escape and AVON Women of Earth. These I keep it in the office, in case i lupa nak pakai perfume. But to be honest, if you put on perfume that don't suits your mood or event, you will definitely feel bad mood the whole day or out of place.

However lately I noticed that I am attracted to musky and spicy scents. It was actually by accident. When I first moved back to Penang, I brought with me just the basic toiletries. As I packed in hurry so I left my favourite perfumes in my KL home. So on my first I day working in Penang I had little choice but to spray my mum's AVON Imari Satin "leftover". Luckily not an Auntie smell hahaha

I was a bit put off by the spicy and musky basic note initially. Then slowly, I scent the faint smell of amber and vanilla. At the end of the day, I love the way the smell still linger on my skin. Hmm ... kind of reminded me of Loccitane Vanilla EDT, which is a combo of vanilla and amber. So I went to the local AVON shop and was informed that this product was discontinued. Not again!!!

But I really couldn't get the scent out of my system. Everytime I receive the AVON campaign brochures I prayed that it is in the promotion! However till now my prayers remain unanswered. Apalah dosaku...

So, as I was passing the KLIA Emporium this afternoon, catching my flight to Penang, I decided to ask the perfume salesgirls if they could suggest some woman perfumes with musky smell. Mana tau jumpa yang almost similar to IMARI Satin. They suggested a few brand like Gucci and Shiseido .... hmm not the one I am looking for. Then I pun gatal-gatal testing D&G Frangrance Anthology, which was inspired by Tarot Cards... hmm interesting.

And .... there I found the fragrance that I was looking for.
L’Amoureaux 6 has "a tantalising array of spices in the top and middle note, dries down into wood and musk base. An exhilarating rush of juniper, bergamot and pink pepper is rooted in cardamom, birch leaf, 0rris heart before bedding down into sumptuous blend f wood and musk. Romance's very essence"

It's a bit masculine but on certain notes, exude feminity. Based on some review, "the impression channels a desirable character that is neither male, nor female, nor unisex, moving with dynamism to the free, edgy style that marks the D&G fashion empire"

Inspiration – Personality: The Charmer
An incurable romantic in possession of an inherent nobility, dashing L’Amoureux melts the most cynical of hearts. Desired by all he meets, this charmer is all about intensity.

Hmmm, dunno about that yet .... the ad really melts my heart though ... hehehe

Body Mind and Soul - Shopping Therapy, SJP Moments and Spas

Aiyooo... makin lama makin mencabar lah nak mengupdate blog nie. I dunno if u all mengalami masalah yang sama tapi as days gone by ... all I can remember about a day event is pergi kerja then sibuk2 kat ofis, balik kerja, pastu kemas rumah, tgk TV, tido and pergi kerja ... mcm takde in between time nak mengupdate blog huhuhu...

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY TO JAYNE YVONNE YEOH

Anyway, first of all I would like to wish my "baby" sister Jayne .. Happy 21st Birthday ... too bad most of the family members will not be there on your birthday but do enjoy urself hard on this once in a lifetime special day coz after this you will start getting new year blues like me hahaha... AND ...jangan ingat body mu akan kekal bodylicious OK. I was thinner and slimmer when I was your age so paham2 jer lah who's SEBENARNYA gonna inherit Madam Nelly Paya ak Soweng's body 10 years from now.

Rustic Nirvana Spa @ Solaris Mont Kiara

As u know lah kan, lepas X'mas and dekat2 New Year i punya body system jadi tak betul lah sebab dah penat giler - body, mind and soul huhuhu... So, after all my family members dah balik Kuching I tried to have a good rest during weekend. Tapi biasalah takes time jugak to wind down sebab dah terbiasa dengan suasana riuh and then tiba2 sunyi sepi... huhuhu...

Tapi nampaknya permasalahan I mendapat perhatian masyarakat antarabangsa when I received a frantic call from Syuhana, asking me if I could joined her for a spa treatment at Rustic Nirvana Spa @ Solaris MONT Kiara. She got this promotion offer as a AEON Credit Card holder for a spa treatment for two at RM 68.00. Cheap right? Fuh, i pun dah lama tak pergi spa. Last I pergi somewhere early 2008. Sebelum nie I did enrol for a spa package at Zenith Spa @ Midvalley. Masa tuh I betul-betul nak pamper myself so I tried lah facial, massage and slimming treatment kat situ. I pun tak tahu kenapa I choose this place - perhaps because I was drawn to the green interior kot.

But lepas jer enrol myself to the spa package, I menyesal sebab tak buat homeworks atau tak try out other centres. Time tuh mcm cepat tangan nak "swipe". On the other hand, tak boleh salahkan diri jugak sebab I have never been to a spa before so I dont know what to expect. I am still a kampung girl at heart - kalau nak urut badan call jer Emma and balik kampung dia kat Felda "I can't remember the place", ada makcik tuh terer urut. So banyak lah lesson daripada spa2 nie.

First, don't commit yourself to many session package. Hari nie memang kiter seronok treatment tuh, tapi esok maybe nak try treatment lain plak. Secondly, jangan terus terpengaruh dengan kata2 beautician/therapist. Buat bodo jer kalau dia promote product dia atau dia suruh kita ambik pakej2 yang mahal. Ketiga, treatments nie pun sebenarnya boleh mix and match. We might like slimming treatment kat spa A but we love facial kat spa B.

Anyway, at Rustic Nirvana we tried the Jamu body massage, body wrap and herbal steam bath. Before we started our treatment, they served us sweet ginger tea. Hmmm I like ... I tak sempat lah nak ambik gambar spa tu but like the name, dia punya deco memang rustic... dinding dia tak dicat tapi dia buat mcm cement render. Sekali pandang mcm dinding yang tak siap. But wat I like about dia punya treatment room ialah ada built in shower so lepas treatment boleh terus mandi. Tak perlu lah nak jalan berkemban all the way to separate shower area.

Personally I like the whole Jamu treatment - macam treatment orang lepas pantang pulak. Lepas treatment u feel warm. But dari segi massage, I still prefer my favourite Thai masseur kat Urban Retreat, The Curve. Bagi I, I suka orang yang urut i memiliki jari2 yang pendek dan tembam. Jari-jari yang kurus and panjang make my sensitive skin sakit. Sepanjang kena urut tuh, Beverly, therapist yang assigned to me promote-promote lah spa dia orang tuh. Like the owner is Singaporean, and specialty treatment is pre-natal and post natal. Plus this is the only spa yang ada affliation dengan Pantai Medical Centre. Dia orang offer home visit service for women lepas bersalin. Ohhh! impressive.

Perhaps sebab dia guna ramuan herba seperti kunyit, halia, dan serai wangi yang bagus untuk buang angin - berapa kali I kena tahan dari buang angin hehehee.... Pricewise, compared to Zenith, I think it's cheaper and I think Asian inspired dia nie memang sesuai untuk wanita yang mengalami hormon imbalance, and post natal. Yang lepas bersalin tuh bagus try... u will know why ... (sebab I pergi lepas habis period).

The down side - sebab I still love my massage sessions at Urban Retreat. And then like I said, I taknak terikat because of the package thing until takde peluang nak try spa lain.


Sidetrack - Suprise Housewarming and X'mas Gift from Raj and Tuan Hamdan TTPR

After Syuhana, at 2.30 pm I received another call from my teh tarik buddies, Raj said he and Tuan Hamdan of TTPR has something for me and told me to meet him in 15 minutes time. Aiyo... I am so bad with suprises coz it always ended up people get suprises from me. Then just when I was about to getting ready to meet up with them at Tuan Hamdan's office I received another call from Datin Zaitun's office asking me to be at the Level 6 meeting room for a discussion immediately .... haaa see?

Turn out that both Raj and Tuan Hamdan felt bad for not attending my small X'mas party and they both got me a Christmas cum New Year cum housewarming present. Raj got me a PINK wristwatch and Tuan Hamdan gave me a nice crystal wine glass set. So sweet.... thank you guys... I will make up with many many teh tarik sessions nanti yer. I know Raj mesti tak tahan tgk jam tangan Fossil I mcm Ramli and Sazali tak tahan tgk jam tangan Baby Guess I dulu... hahahaha. Sungguh tak sessuaaaaaaaaiiii....

Sarah Jescica Parker (SJP) Moments @ Buttermilk

I am not into cupcakes tapi entah mengapa when Syuhana ajak I gi Uptown beli cupcakes for her hubby birthday masa our long Friday lunch break I rasa SJP of Sex In The City sangat ... very chic ! Sayang I was not wearing skirt kembang fru fru dengan heels to die for huhuhu.... Semenjak banyak spent time dengan Syu and Nurul, I suka lah indulge myself dengan benda yang comel-comel nie. Kadang2 heran jugak, manalah diaorang get to know place2 comel mcm nie. I like the decor of the shop, mcm classroom tadika pun ada, mcam american kitchen in the 1960s pun ada.

Shopping Therapy and Herbaline Facial Spa @ The Mines

Yesterday, I spent the whole day sleeping. Best betul AKHIRNYA dapat tidur lena dan panjang sampai tulang belakang i sakit-sakit. So pagi nie I kuatkan diri getting myself out of bed and heads for Mines for my CNY shopping. Mcm baru semalam jer shopping for X'mas. Kadang2 I rasa I terlebih cina pulak bila shopping for CNY like kena pastikan no "black", kena buy semua baru termasuk lah new lingerie... hehehe... Last 2 years, Angel Lim, my insurance agent fren, gave me panty merah dengan bunga peony besar kat depan to symbolise cepat kawin .... problemnya panty tuh very aunty style so i pun tak pakai so tertangguh lah perkahwinan I selama 2 tahun huhuhu.... But syariah lagi best ... she bagi a set of G-string for my 17th birthday anniversary ... alamak... kena workout lah pulak ...

Anyway, highlight of my shopping therapy was a facial spa at Herbaline plus complimentary fish reflexology. I sebenarnya pun tgh start a new life kat Seri Kembangan nie so as part of my new lifestyle kena start lah jaga kecantikan from top to toe. I was drawn to Herbaline nie because of the green interior and price per treatment dia very affordable. Ranging from RM 68 sehingga RM 138. Best of all, dia tak paksa orang ambik pakej and they entertained walk-in. The beautician pun tak paksa I beli product dia. Lately jugak pun terasa nak start a good beauty regime nie selepas tgk muka kawan2 lama kat facebook. Ada yang makin cun, ada yang makin "matang". Since muka I nie kering and I pun lama tak buat facial so they recommended the deep cleansing and mosturising treatment - which is very cooling and refreshing. hehehe... tgk gambar kat atas pun tau i mesti terlelap time treatment.

I thought spa nie kecik jer. I was suprise to find that the fish reflexology area dia nie open-air dalam taman berkonsepkan Zen. So after my facial session, I relax myself kat taman nie sambil membiarkan kaki "Giselle" i dijamah oleh ikan2 kecik. Tak sakit pun ... rasa macam kejutan-kejutan elektrik. Haa semin, this is how I achieved my sexy feet ... huhuhuhu. To distant cousin "Giselle" - you better watch out...