The Sawasdee Thai Spa is located in Ambience mall on the second floor (just below Rockman’s Beer Island). You can walk in to a nice snug reception and the folks behind the reception desk are very friendly and helpful. There is a menu of treatments and massages that you can choose from, and I chose to have something called the Lotus Signature Massage (it wasn’t really called this, but something similar) – this massage was a combination of Swedish style and hot compresses – it sounded good.

You have a choice of a male or a female therapist, with your choice not necessarily always available (a busy place this is). I waited for about 10-15 minutes while they prepared the room. In the meantime, they brought me a glass of water – this is important. Before any massage, you should drink water because a massage releases toxins into the blood stream, and if there is not enough water in your body to dilute and ‘wash-out’ the toxins, then you will end up with a headache after the massage (as the toxins hit your brain). It is very important to have water before and after your massage. And since I didn’t ask for the water, it shows that they know their business (not every spa I have been to does this).

Before you are led to your room, they get you to change into soft slippers (you leave your shoes at the reception where they are placed securely in a shoe rack behind the counter). The room was very nice – clean, softly lit, with a built-in shower area. The masseuse that was assigned to me was really strong. She gave my body a very nice workout and squeezed weeks worth of stress out of my body. I have to mention the quality of the place a little more in terms of cleanliness – I have visited other spas in Gurgaon (such as Body Spa) and sometimes felt very dissatisfied with the cleanliness of towels and sheets for the massage table. But this place I had no concerns (by the way, its new, so let’s see if they keep their quality up).

I felt very good after the massage, and I got the impression that the masseuse was a qualified professional who knew what she was doing. There was hot tea offered post massage, which is a great alternative to water for hydrating your body. I felt so relaxed that I started walking out without my shoes and would have if the receptionist hadn’t called out after me to remind me. Another point I noticed is that there was no external noise in the massage room. This is something that is good. I think its very important for the mind to relax as the body is being worked upon, and there should be no intrusion on your mind during this period. I often fall asleep during a good massage, and the same thing happened here.

Obviously, I recommend this place highly.

Now for the cost – this 90 minute massage cost me almost Rs. 3500 (they have an introductory discount going on). Needless to say, it is not cheap. However, if you compare this to places such as Body Spa (which cost almost as much and doesn’t provide a fraction of the quality that this place offers) and also the fact that it is situated in one of the best malls in Gurgaon, the price is reasonable.

Another thing to notice is that you might want to call up in advance to book an appointment. While I was waiting for my room to be prepared I saw a number of people who came and left disappointed because there was no open slot available. Their website is still under construction, but it tells you the number to call: +91 124 466 5454.

Have you visited Sawasdee? If yes, please leave your impression in the comments.

Almost all malls in Gurgaon have a salon – a lot have more than one. The mall that I most visit is Ambience Mall on NH8, and the salon present in this mall is called Hair n Shanti. I am a regular at this place, as is my wife, and this blog post is a quick review of our experience with Hair n Shanti.

If you are in a hurry, here’s the quick review: generally, you will be pleased with the outcome of your visit. There are no red flags in terms of services provided and the quality of service. So, I recommend this salon.

However, if you need a little more detail, read on.

The place is usually crowded, so either take an appointment, or be prepared to wait a little while you are adjusted in between appointments. I normally just walk in there the moment I enter the mall to see when the next slot is, and then adjust my other activities in the mall accordingly.

The services offered to the ladies are fairly good (as witnessed by my wife – she has never complained once, so it must be good).

For myself, I can vouch for the haircut and head massage which are always excellent. I have been nicked a couple of times while getting a shave, so I generally avoid that (but I think that is pretty much the norm anywhere). My wife forced me into getting a manicure once, but I didn’t like what they did and nor did she. However, there are always plenty of men getting a variety of face and hair treatments, so overall it should be good.

Most people seem to be regulars (as evidenced by the familiarity between the service providers and the customers). What this says is that they are happy with what they get and that is why they return.

The guy who I normally get catered by is named Sahil, and he is fairly good. You can ask for him by name.

Now the main negative – the place is expensive. A men’s haircut costs Rs. 400. So you can scale the other things accordingly. I guess that is the price you pay for the location and the convenience. But if that doesn’t bother you, this place is certainly recommended.

Have you had experiences at Hair n Shanti? Please leave comments.

But, I am jumping all over the place here. Let me introduce this place first. The restaurant is called FresCo. It is located towards the backend of the Ambience mall food court (a little behind the McDonalds).

They have both A La Carte and Buffet menus, and I have enjoyed both, and liked them both. A friend of mine however would differ as she didn’t like the soup that they served her (but she is vegetarian).

The staff is very polite and is always watching out for you, and makes you feel very much at home. There are two seating areas, open and closed. The benefit of the closed area is that you don’t feel like you are in the middle of a mall with people passing by all the time.

They have a decent wine list as well, so you should be able to order good accompaniment to the largely Italian/Med cuisine that the place serves. We enjoyed their desserts as well when we tried the buffet. However, if you are really a dessert buff, then you may want to check out IndiJoe’s which is a couple of restaurants down (once we ate at FresCo’s and then walked to IndiJoe’s for dessert).

Overall, the place is recommended. Do try it out, and leave your comments here on whether you liked it or not.

Here follows a review of the place.

The place serves beer of course (the name kind of gives it away, doesn’t it). But its no ordinary bar. They have their own brewery inside the restaurant and all the beer is fermented fresh. Now, that makes it different (if not unique, as this is not the only micro-brewery in town).

The Beer – I don’t normally like beer. However, I did develop a taste for a particular type of beer which is common in Germany (its called wheat beer or Weizen). And surprise, surprise, they offer wheat beer at Rockman’s. And it was pretty good as well. They do offer a number of other brews, and you can choose to order a large glass or the regular ones (the photo shows the regular ones).

We were joined by a couple of other friends and all of these beer-drinking guys said that the beer was good (remember that I am not too big on beers).

The Food – the food was nice. We ordered a variety of starters and dishes, and there were no complaints with the food quality. The menu is varied, though it is heavily biased towards the non-veg variety of food. So, you vegetarians will have only a handful of options to choose from.

The Ambience – the environment in the restaurant (I call it a restaurant) was pretty bright and cheerful. They have this little booths which look like barrels/kegs (call it whatever you want), in which you can sit 4-6 people. But you can only use them if you are only going to have some beer, as the tables in them are tiny. Other than that, there are normal tables and of course a bar space where you can sit if you happen to be alone or with a friend.

The Price – the place is very expensive. That’s all I can say.

Conclusion – nice place but very pricey. Will probably go back though.

Have you been to Rockman’s? If yes, please leave your impression of the place in the comments.

We did come upon ONE store which specializes in maternity clothes. And although there is little choice (they were having a clearing sale at that time), at least there is choice. The place is called That’s Cute and is in Ambi Mall. You can find it on the second floor towards the end where the Reliance store is.

The good thing about the store is that they have a fairly interested store owner who gave us a lot of attention and helped out in general. We did choose a couple of items for my wife, but both needed fitting out and they were more than willing to carry out the customizations (this wasn’t just normal length alteration). You can visit their website to take a look at their catalogue by clicking here. You can even purchase online, although for clothes I suggest visiting the store.

They will be having a new line of clothes soon, and we will surely be going back for checking it out again. Do you know of any other places in Gurgaon that sell maternity clothes? If yes, then please leave a comment.