Dempsey Weekends

I used to dislike Dempsey Road sooo much because my parents loved going there to buy various pieces of furniture during the weekends. To my sister and me, that meant a boring afternoon spent looking at wooden furniture and trying not to get bitten by mosquitoes. Only in recent years did I realize that there's so much more to Dempsey than furniture and seafood.

There has been so much raving about brunch/high-tea places at Dempsey that I got so sick of the thought of going there. I'm not one for crowds or opinions of the masses.

However, I'm so glad that I decided to go for a massage at Spa Esprit and have dinner with Mel at House. It was such a lovely and quiet day spent.

The room was very clean and simple. The best part for me was the light smell of essential oils wafting through the air. I love essential oils and scented candles with a burning passion. Which explains the 6 Bath and Body Works candles I have sitting in storage right now, waiting to be burned. And mommy's plus my collection of essential oils. Ah love ♥

I asked the front desk for a recommendation of their best and was introduced to the House Proud Massage which's a combination of a classic massage and Tui Na, if I remember correctly. But in the end I chose the Back To Balance which consisted of 8 essential oils.

During the 90-min massage, I went to heaven and forgot to come back. The masseuse was really nice and polite, asking for my preference of which areas I'd like to concentrate more on. I know for a fact my neck and shoulders have a ton of knots which ache so much especially when I'm hunched over a table doing work. When she started working on those, I died for a moment on the table. She apologized for the pain but I told her to carry on anyway which was the best idea ever because right now, the knots feel non-existent! Also, the smell of the oils definitely helped in relaxing me further.

A point to take note of is if you're heading out after the massage, it's best to have the oils cleaned off you or at least exposed areas like your neck and limbs. When the lady asked if I wanted it cleaned off or left on, I made the mistake of choosing to leave it on which meant feeling oily for the rest of the day during dinner and shopping afterwards.

Came out to a nice surprise of hot ginger tea and pastries. Totally relaxed at the sitting area till Mel said she was on the way. Plus points for after-treatment service!

Another thing I noticed was how the front desk doesn't hard sell their products or service packages. I was observing how they treated all other clients besides myself and it was the same. For this customer who had a package that was already used up, she was just politely asked if she wanted to add on more services or leave it at that for the time being. There wasn't the whole "it's so much cheaper if you sign up now, it's a limited time offer only and it's really cheap so do it now now NOW!" I hate hard selling tactics so much because I'm currently experiencing it at other salons which I'm going to with every.single.visit. It definitely spoils the entire experience and leaves me feeling hella annoyed.

So anyway, the front desk very politely informed me of this introductory package which they had going on at the moment. I would so totally have signed up if not for how much I've already spent elsewhere.

Hanger steak, apple cider by the bottle, truffle fries

If you love red meats medium rare, do try the Hanger Steak. It looked like such a small portion at first but made me so full I couldn't even finish the croquette. Apple cider was so awesome at washing down the food. Love!

I love relaxing weekends.