Far Infrared Sauna experience and benefits @Sucess Therapeutic

Thanks to a fellow blogger, I have won a giveaway for a FIR sauna session with Ryan.  We tried the home sauna setup at Success Therapeutic.

Success Therapeutic
Unit 1001, Block E, Level 10,
Pusat Dagangan Phileo Damansara I,
No. 9, Jalan 16/11,
Off Jalan Damansara, PJ
03 7954 0822
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/successthera/
Opens Monday to Friday 9.30am to 6.30pm

Interesting enough, they also own Pinang Suri Wellness center in Institut Jantung Negara.

What's FIR sauna?
Conventional sauna uses heat generated from steam to warm the air then the body. Sonne FIR uses part of the wavelength of sunlight to create radiant heat that then warm the body. This means that the surrounding air is not heated. FIR sauna also penetrates the skin into 1.5 inches deep which also claims to duplicate the healthy frequency of cells.

There's lots of health claims for FIR sauna which can be found from Success Therapeutic and mayo clinic websites.

Generally speaking, the evidence is not very strong but there's no harm found from the therapy. So it's safe to try :)

Before the session, we were invited to hydrate ourselves and we are also allowed to drink fluids during the session. We could even read magazine or browse our phone!

After setting the unit to 30 minutes, we stepped into the sauna and unwind. There's no need to preheat the unit and there's no suffocating steam heat. After about 10 minutes, we started to sweat. In the last 5 to 10 minutes, we could actually feel our heart speeding up. And it's equivalent to a cardio exercise.

The sweat dried up pretty quickly and our body didn't feel sticky afterwards. Really enjoyed the experience overall.

If you really like FIR sauna, you can install one of these units at home! Or else you can just visit their wellness center at IJN.

This is their standard unit which fits 2 person.

The corner unit which fits 2 to 3 people. It costs around RM20k per unit though.

Verdict: we will definitely try FIR sauna again. But probably won't install one at home haha.

Disclaimer: the opinion given is merely a personal experience and does not constitute formal medical advice. Please seek your medical professional's advice before any complementary therapy. Always ask for certified center before proceeding with treatment and stop if discomfort ensues.

Pure coffee connoisseur featuring Pull A Shot Kuantan

Pull A Shot is one of the older cafes in Kuantan when there were not many choices. But they have come a long way. Frequented by coffee lovers and foodies alike, it's definitely a hidden gem in this sleepy town.

Pull A Shot
A245, Jalan Air Putih
095055836
Opens daily 9am to 5.30pm, 7pm to 11pm except Thursday
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pullAshot/

There's lots of insta worthy corners here. I couldn't stop taking photos.

A map of countries producing coffee beans.

Cosy reading corner. One can even borrow books for free. Everyone is welcome to donate books as well.

The process of coffee bean production.

Their rough menu.

Pull A Shot has 2 certified baristas who happened to fall in love with coffee and to each other at the same time :)

Their coffee is of a single origin. Look at all their coffee making gadgets. It's not just about a cup of coffee churned from the espresso machine here.

The barista/owner suggested us to try this hand brewed coffee. It's not easy to make this cuppa. It requires precise measurement of the weight of coffee bean, temperature and weight of the water. The barista also has to pour the water through the special filter paper over 2.5 minutes for a perfect kaffa. The result is a very soothing and smooth cup of long black.

Entree- Tomato mussel soup. Rich tomato taste with diced potato, carrot and capsicum. Very comforting and goes well when dipped with slices of toasted bread. Especially good during this cold weather.

Main- spaghetti carbonara. Fantastic for those who love thick creamy pasta. Really rich and saturate the palate with all the goodness of cream and cheese, sauteed mushroom and lightly crisped ham. The cheese powder looks just like the snow and reminds me of white Christmas. Will definitely order this again. Baby Bing loved this to bits.

Dessert- this is one of their signature. Claimed to be the best in town, we really think this matcha lava cake is worthy of this. The taste of matcha is not too overpowering.But the warm buttery and gooey lava flowing out is to die for. Savor this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and strawberry preserve.

Charcoal churros. Festive looking just like stacked logs with snowy icing sugar on top.

Fluffy churros dipped in thick peanut butter sauce yet the skin is just lightly fried. Heavenly combination! 8 pieces is easily shared between 2.

Check out their promotions daily on the board.

Head to Pull A Shot now for some Christmas special :) look at how cute the set is! Gingerbread man, lemon tart, almond tart, friand, cream puff and panna cotta.

Verdict: 8.5/10! Pull A Shot is not just a normal cafe. It's especially for those who really love coffee. The owner likes to share his passion and knowledge about coffee. Combined with good food and tasty dessert, it's definitely a place we will revisit.

Don't forget to get more discounts from OffPeak.
https://www.offpeak.my/restaurant/2209/pull-a-shot-kuantan

Therapeutic massage featuring Medicurve Klang

Aromatherapy, massage and chiropractic therapies have been used since ancient times for various ailments. In the current day and age, these has been proven to be effective for chronic pain management, great for stress relief and relaxation. Dr Ryan and Dr Angel had the chance to experience this complementary therapy.

Medicurve Aesthetics Center
No. 30, Jalan Tiara 1B, Bandar Baru Klang
0333431902/0169221902
Opens daily 10.30am to 8.30pm
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012921914699

A cup of lemongrass tea to unwind the mind and body before the treatment began.

Medicurve uses Alqvmia essential oils, a Spanish product. There are hundreds of essential oils available to tailor the therapeutic needs.

The same brand also has its own series of beauty products all infused with essential oils.

Every client will have their chakra read before each aromatherapy session. Trained professionals use crystal on a pendant to analyze each chakra depending on the direction of rotation. Read here to find out more about Chakra.

This is what our chakra governs. Source from Pinterest. Fairly interesting concept originated from India. As people of science, we find this interesting and unexplained by conventional research.

The chakra that's out of sync will be balanced by using the correct essential oil chosen by our inner energy and the crystal. Due to different stress level and circumstances, disequilibrium of different chakras could happen at different times.

Before getting started, you can keep your valuables in their lockers.

Massage is then performed by Indonesian masseuse in order to relieve the obstruction in chakras. This is a whole body aromatherapy, paying particular attention not just to the limbs, but also the face and neck. Accompanied by relaxing background music and warm packs on the tummy and eyes, I could feel my general well-being improve.

The chosen essential oil, in my situation, Queen of Egypt was applied to only the obstructed chakra. This has a woody scent mainly containing myrhh and incense oleoresin. This oil boosts self esteem and restores feminity.

Clients are given the chance to take a siesta after the massage. Medicurve even offers massage therapy for expecting and new mothers. They observe strict guidelines for this group of clients and only uses safe essential oil ie lavender. Read this post about safe aromatherapy in pregnancy/breastfeeding mothers.

Waiting area for those who are waiting for their partners.

Prenatal massage, when done correctly can be very helpful for backache and leg swelling. The same goes to the postpartum period. But massage is not recommended if you have high blood pressure during pregnancy for example. Medicurve also welcomes your little angels to attend massage therapy together if you prefer so. Baby Bing even napped with me at the end of the massage.

Similarly, Medicurve also has chiropractic therapy by appointment. We didn't have the chance to meet the chiropractor though. This is a useful complementary therapy together with conventional medicine to comanage particularly chronic musculoskeletal pain. This can also be safely done during pregnancy. However, the WHO has listed down a few contraindications for this therapy including nerve impingement and recent surgery with prosthesis.

Verdict: Medicurve offers therapeutic massage and aromatherapy guided by chakra reading, as well as chiropractic services. The service is professional and staff are friendly. We would love to revisit to experience chiropractic therapy.

Disclaimer: the opinion given is merely a personal experience and does not constitute formal medical advice. Please seek your medical professional's advice before any complementary therapy. Always ask for certified therapist before proceeding with treatment and stop if discomfort ensues.

New hair color for 2018 featuring Hair Color Expert Damansara Uptown

Due to premature graying, I have to dye my hair at least twice a year to cover this. With years, there are more gray hair unfortunately. I recently changed my hair color at Hair Color Expert.

Hair Color Expert
44A, Jalan SS21/35, Damansara Utama
Tel 0162139566
Google Apps htpps://goo.gl/DG7udP
Facebook Page https://m.facebook.com/sphaircolorexpert/
(Main branch at Sri Petaling)

Getting an appointment from Hair Color Expert is easy peasy. Just a few clicks on their app and you are good to go! But remember to confirm your appointment 2 hours prior to avoid auto cancellation.

HCE is a concept salon that only do hair colouring. And what I really like is that they are really transparent with their pricing. Any additional charges are confirmed before proceeding with colouring.

All HCE customers go through the following 6 steps.

Step 1 consultation.

Sean, a very experienced hair stylist with MLVK certification talked me through the process. I intended to change my hair to burgundy/purple. However, Sean explained that this will need bleaching and make my fragile hair even more dry and brittle. This color also does not last. For gray hair coverage, he recommended dyeing every 3 to 4 months.

I settled with dark blue in the end. It's the 'in color' at the moment. Apparently, it will morph into dark green then brown later on. This is the reason why I prefer salon colouring than home colouring.

Step 2 coloring.

My hair color is ammonia free which doesn't give a stinging sensation and is more suitable for sensitive scalp. HCE is planning to introduce a colorless and odourless hair dye starting 2018 which is also more environmental friendly. So watchout for that!

Sean also meticulously protected my skin around the hairline with a layer of Vaseline. My hair was also protected by toxin removal essence. Ears on protective ear muffs. Thumbs up for his effort!

Step 3 wait.

All customers are given this cute timer to wait for 30 minutes so the color can develop.

At the mean time, we are encouraged to just chill out and have a cuppa in the pantry or enjoy the TV shows or surf the net.

Step 4 wash.

When time's up, hand the timer back and lie down on one of these comfy couches for a good hair washing and conditioning.

Step 5 treatment.

Depending on the hair color, one will be given hair treatment accordingly. As my hair color is dark, I was advised for a hydrating treatment serum instead of Nano treatment.

Step 6 dry.

Even though it's stated as a quick dry, I came out of the salon looking like a million dollar celebrity. New look done!

Before. Excuse the 3 hours long drive and the messy hair.

After. Looks like I'll need to blow/straighten my hair from now on! I like how the color is not too exaggerating and makes my complexion looks fairer.

All these were completed in an hour!

Verdict: Hair Color Expert provides affordable and  professional hair colouring in a short time. Try it out and let me know your experience.

The neighborhood cafe featuring Pauls Cafe Kuantan

This is not our first time dining at Paul's Cafe. I have written about them not that long ago. This is the link for my first blog post about Paul's Cafe.

We kept coming back because of the food and the awesome service.

Paul's Cafe
A15 lorong Seri kuantan 82, Star city, 25250 Kuantan, Pahang
Opens daily 11am to 11pm except Mondays
Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/PaulsCafeKuantan/about

Paul's Cafe is runned by Shirley and her family. She's mainly in charge of the cakes, husband the cooking whereas her children the barista. They serve real food with no added MSG.

Their current menu is also a homey collection of traditional Chinese and western food. The choices are not extensive, but all are their signature dishes.

Start with our favorite snack Paulky fries which is actually made of strips of luncheon meat. Yum yum!

Chicken burger- crunchy crumbed and fried gigantic piece of chicken thigh yet still juicy inside. One can choose grilled chicken if desired (I didn't because food intake only contributed to 20% cholesterol level anyway :p )Topped with their signature minced pork bolognaise sauce and. Sandwiched by charcoal buns sourced from a secret local bakery (not available to the public unfortunately).

Fish maw mee hoon soup. This is a rare find. For one, the broth is made by hours and hours of cooking with pork bones along with other secret ingredients. Yet it's not oily. Have this with fish maw that melts in the mouth; white fungus that's still slightly crunchy and full of texture and a hard boiled egg.

Paul's Cafe also offers an interesting range of beverages.

Matcha rose latte. Matcha powder sourced from Japan. Very fresh and goes down the throat smoothly. One can also taste a hint of rose fragrance that goes very well with matcha.

Non alcoholic mojito. Refreshing with a punch of mint and lime goodness. Combine this with fizzy soda water, this makes a soothing beverage.

Paul's café's secret weapon is actually their cakes. Watch out for updates on their Facebook page because the cakes are not available everyday and they sell like hot cakes literally! One can even order their cakes in advance (in whole or slices).

Mango cheese cake. Topped with mangoes freshly plucked from the owner's tree so it's seasonal. Layers of rich cream cheese intertwine with digestive biscuits. What a heavenly combination!

Pandan layer cake. Made from real screwpine juice with no artificial colouring. The sponge cake in between is still moist and dense. Baked by the owner's friend.

Carrot cake :) The ultimate comfort food. Need no further description.

Those who wish to dine in privacy can opt to  use their VIP room or even book the whole place for functions. Pauls also accepts catering for parties.

They also have daily special rates :)

Therefore, we rate Pauls Cafe 8/10! Try it out and let us know. Don't forget to get more discounts from OffPeak!

OffPeak link
https://www.offpeak.my/restaurant/2792/pauls-cafe-kuantan