Eugene Ooi

Located in Merchant Square, Petaling Jaya, Sampuoton Spa claims to be the first fish therapy designer concept spa in Malaysia. They differentiate themselves from other fish spas as the use the highly priced Garra Rufa fishes (Dr. Fish) from Turkey. These fishes have been scientifically proven by many universities for it’s ability to cure skin problems. Each fish cost around RM30 and approx. 10,000 fishes are needed to run the spa.

Some fish spas have been found to use the cheaper Chin Chin fish. This fish originated in Chengdu, China. The Chinese saw the fish spa business as a good business opportunity in China. As the cost of starting a fish spa using Garra Rufa fishes was very high, they trained a new fish to attack the skin and also named it Dr. Fish. These fishes only approx RM0.80 each.

I visited the spa last Sunday, they are currently having a 30% discount on the ala-carte treatments, so I took the Fish spa and Swedish massage, a total of RM182 after discount. After registration, I was given a locker key and a pair of slippers. I had to take took off my shoes at the reception area and wore the slippers to enter spa. Mr Pua, showed me the Garra Rufa pool area and said a shower (without soap) must be taken before entering the pool. He then showed me the locker/shower area and gave me a swimming trunk. Each locker contains two towels, a pair of shorts and a kimono.

Fish Spa
I change into the swimming trunk, took a towel and headed to the pool. I put my feet in first as instructed by Mr Pua as to get used to the tingling feeling before getting my whole self into the pool. After a minute, I sat in and the fishes were nibbling everywhere but more concentrated around my feet, elbows, neck and back. Guess I have a lot of dead skin in these areas. The spa attendant came shortly and rolled the towel to make a head rest so I could rest my head while the fish nibble away. After the one hour treatment, I took a shower before my Swedish massage and I noticed that my skin feels smoother.

Swedish Massage (Sports Massage)
I change into a pair of shorts and put on a kimono for the massage. While waiting for the room to be ready, I was served a cup of warm lemongrass tea. Sampuoton is working with the Malay Tea House by Forest Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) to revive the ancient art of Malay tea drinking. They also have 18 varieties of organic tea on sale. The massage was done very professionally and on a proper massage table. The long strokes, kneading, and tapping really soothes and relaxes the muscles.

Conclusion
A wonderful experience but would be better if the prices were more attractive.