My wonderful afternoon at Phillip Wain.

Yesterday I got the chance to try out The Phillip Wain facilities in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. 

I received a voucher in my December MyLuxBox and I had to choose in between a 7-days Exercise Pass at the Phillip Wain facilities OR an Hydro Boost Facial & Body Massage with La Colline cosmetics. I decided to Call Phillip Wain and book an appointment for their Facial and Massage and Give it a try !

  Phillip Wain has been an Asian leader in fitness and beauty industry for more than 30 years with branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Luckily they have a branch in TST which is really convenient as my new office is located there! There newly opened branch is right opposite Mira Hotel, in the Miramar Tower (11/Fl) and you can easily book at 2377 3888.

The staff is Chinese but most of them speak pretty good English and they all are really nice and helpful.

 

Upon arrival I was given this really cute leather notepad where I had to fill in my contact information then I was given a short introduction of the facilities. This branch is newly renovated as they just moved here 5 months ago.

The venue is all so luxurious, clean and lighting is soft so you immediately feel like in a comfy cocoon. The staff took me to the changing rooms and gave me a Phillip Wain bathrobe , cute slippers and fresh towels. I was really positive surprised as everything smells so fresh and flowery over there ! So many Fitness facilities often smell like chlorine and give me headache! At Phillip Wain this is total opposite... The venue is clean and the wooden cabinets looks so nice and homey...

I gave it a try , but seriously , who can look "cool" with a bathrobe ! HAHA

 I went around the facilities and here is a Thai Massage room (above).

 The Gym Section is quite huge with brand new equipments, personal trainers....

They also host a choice of literally hundreds of exercise and dance classes weekly for members at every level. The wealth of options on offer includes:

Cardiovascular Training: XT Lite,Kick Boxing, Step Challenge, Combat, … Muscular Strength and Endurance: TBC, Gliding Tone, Core Fusion, and Power Fit… Mind and Spirit : Rock’n Roll Stretch, Yoga, Gyrokinesis, Pilates & Allegro… Fitness Through Dance: Cumbia Dance, Aero Sit Dance and CardioBar Dance…

 You even get some light snacks whenever you want and also so freshly made apple juice.

 After going around the facilities, a personal beautician met me in her private office, they basically have 10 of those small offices where you can meet highly experienced sport and beauty experts.

The beautiful and kind lady sat with me for a while when she just asked questions in order to evaluate my type of skin and my special needs. Thanks to this,  every facial, treatment or sport program are adapted to every single lady! They will adapt everything depending on your health , age, condition and expectations.

Here is the beauty products shop section. Wonderland for serial shoppers like me.

The facial I received was a La Colline Hydro-boost Collagen Facial. This treatment is using the renowned brand La Colline which is famous in cellular anti-aging. The concept is that they use pure Royal jelly to nourish and moisturize the skin . During the facial various relaxing massages are used in order for the skin to absorb the products . They gave me a neck and shoulder massage and also scalp and hands: HEAVEN !

When i left I could notice impressive results in my skin's softness and suppleness. I can tell is was hydrated, revitalized and re-plumped.

This La Colline Facial is mostly about improving fine lines but it also improve cells metabolism and skin radiance and finally is deeply effective in nourishing the skin! I do recommend you girls to try it out ! 

The Sauna and Hammam can compete with most of the High-End Hotel Spas in Asia !

The access to the wet section looks so glamorous with velvet curtains ! The Show must go on !

Until the last second the venue has it right ! You have some cosmetics to make yourself look pretty before you go back to work or meet you friends. the part I loved the most was the hairbrushes: What a good idea to have this "used" / "unused" distinction.

To make it short , I left Phillip Wain so relaxed and my skin was glowing, hydrated and refreshed. I immediately called my girls to share the good tip! 

Next time I may go to their Causeway Bay branch as it is closer to my home and I could go for a nap right after. I felt like I was walking on a cloud and I guess what's all you ask for when you go for a facial /Massage.

Phillip Wain Fitness and Beauty

11/Fl Miramar Center , TST Kowloon 2377 3888

2/Fl City Plaza Taikooshing , TST Kowloon 2513 1313

4/Fl Lee Garden 2 , Causeway Bay 2882 7880

French Dinner at "A La Maison " in Tin Hau

It's Tuesday evening, on a long day off , My boyfriend and I spent the whole afternoon tanning by the pool on the roof top , and I have a craving I can't get rid off : French food !
Lucky me! I heard about this newly opened French Restaurant (Opened roughly 9 months ago) , located in Tin Hau (a few minutes from Causeway Bay).
I thought I would have to bargain : Honey , Please can we go for some french food tonight ?? Yea , my BF is Swedish and he does think that french food rhymes with super heavy / fat dinner meaning He'd need to go a couple of extra hours at the gym to train with his tyrannic personal trainer haha !
But it was easier than what I expected as he was quite interested too ! I mean : French restaurant + Tin Hau + good word of mouth ... Let's go try it !
I used to live in Ti Hau so it didn't take us long to arrive to Jupiter street, even though my BF though I was taking him to the wrong street as Jupiter street is really quite !
First impression : Cozy, French , comfy and unexpected ... Sounds like a great start to my hears !

We were first greeted by the staff: super friendly ,laid- back and all smile ! I am usually quite picky about staff standards and I must say, they did a really good job ALL_NIGHT_LONG.

The owner stopped by and I , of course, couldn't resist speaking french a little bit ! After all , it's my mother tongue and I never get to speak ! The Owner was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Paris.
The venue is quite comfy and I absolutely love the leather sofas... It was just really relaxing to enjoy a glass of wine (at happy hour price : 75 for 2 glasses), while listening to some old school french music.
First arrived : The warm french bread. Long time since I had such a Yum brad ... nothing to say , except that I would have loved some fresh bread instead of the pre-packed butter ...


Comte Cheese salad : the ingredients are really fresh and tasty , the sauce is well-seasoned , would have loved a Comte that would have been a bit more aged

My started was a squid and noodle salad (not really french haha but loved it ! ) The squid was crunchy outside but just chewy enough in the inside... loved the combination with the crispy egg noddles...

Soupe a l'oignon : I personally like it and thought the flavor was interesting but I agree with my BF saying it may have been a bit oily ...

Beef cheek Bourguignon : didn't try it as I a don't eat meat but judging by the fact that it was totally empty after 5 minutes ... I think this was a success



My Seabass was tasty and really well cooked , I loved the fact that they worked out a little foam on the top of it , that looks just so cute and well-finished . Would have like my potatoes a bit warmed though



We finished everything with a cheese plate and a glass of champagne ... perfect to celebrate Buddha's Birthday !
The total bill was around 1000HKD for 2 starters , 1 soup , 2 main courses , 1 cheese plate, 4 glasses of wine and sparkling water (Badoit).
I really think this is a good deal regarding the quality of the food and I will definitely be back ! I actually already planned to take my friend C for a girls dinner over there !
A must try ! A hidden Gem in Tin Hau ! Long Life to my new "Maison ". From now on , when I crave for french food I know where to go get my fix !


Address :
Shop F & G, 18 Jupiter Street, Tin Hau
天后木星街18號地下F-G舖

Phone number : 2510 0123

Tip : Lunch time is always full (from what I heard) , so you'd better book in advance to get the 68 HKD really good deal ! (Includes starter, main , dessert and tea or coffee!)

Red Ant restaurant - cheap eatery in Causeway Bay

Stewed fettuccine with smoked salmon in chive cream sauce ($62)

Baked seafood in white wine sauce ($63)

vegetables Gratin

Last weekend, tired of Soho and central we were wandering around causeway bay looking for a place to have our very late Sunday lunch before shopping around ...
Many time we passed by this place : always full ! people queuing and such an extensive menu and cheap cheap prices !
So we gave it a try !
This Chinese version of the old Mac Donald's is actually quite good and I loved my seafood rice! My BF's pasta were much better than what you can find in many pricey places in Soho and the service was far better than in many of those trendy places !
I will go back for sure !

G/F, No.5 Sharp Street East, Causeway Bay
28903323
http://www.redant.com.hk/en/red-ant-restaurant

Dinner in Causeway Bay - Indonesian restaurant IR 1968

Prawn salad with mixed vegetables, roasted peanuts and lime vinaigrette 78HKD
Careful if you get one of these you'll order a second one ! refreshing , sweet, salty, sour ... an explosion of delicate flavor in your mouth !

Laska Coconut soup with chicken 78 HKD
My boyfriend's dish and I can tell he loved it !

Curry Softshell Crab 98HKD
The softshell crab was tender and crispy , i liked the dish even though it could easily be a bit spicier, i thought the curry was a bit too mild, but great dish!

WANT MORE of these little brilliant pieces of bread !

Fresh water spinach with shrimp paste 78 HKD
Alright , here I am talking about the BEST stir fired water spinach we have ever had in Hong Kong so far ... tasty , just the right amount of shrimp paste and garlic ! the best little chilies ever ! Yum! Would go back only for them !

Yellow Ginger Rice
( not my favorite but my boyfriend loved it , I guess a plain steamed rice would have been perfect for me ! I just thought it was overtaking the wonderful flavors of our dishes!)

Fried spinach Rolls 78 HKD
as delicious as it looks pretty ~! no need to say more : a MUST Try !

I'd just like to end up this by a little note :
The food was amazing and I think the venue is cute , cozy and I will definitely go back very very soon , but just avoid super busy hours ! we arrived there a bit late on a Friday night and the restaurant was totally full ! I have nothing against waiting for a good dinner but the staff was overwhelmed and couldn't deal with the orders , the brought our main before the starters, forgot the rice, forgot our rolls that came last and the chili i asked for came after we finished everything!
So no busy hours and trust me you'll love it ! A MUST GO !

Location	28 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Hours	Mon - Sun: 12:00 pm - 12:00 am

www.ir1968.com