A few days ago I went down to Union Street to get something sorted for my mobile and noticed a new Chinese Massage shop which had opened next to the phone shop. If you come in from Friar Street it is to the back of C-Mart, the Chinese Grocery Store.
Having done a complete round up of pretty much all massage shops in Reading over the last couple of years, I thought I would give it a try as I hadn’t had a rub and tug job in a while. The entrance was a red door with some leaflets placed in a basket outside. No website, gumtree or social media as of yet. Just a number which is 07311 217968.
Paid a visit this Thursday (March 12) around 5 pm. Noticed that things had been upgraded with an illuminated open sign as well as a doorbell. Now this is where the first of many problems start. You ring the doorbell and then wait before the masseuse comes down to let you in. I was starting to feel a bit exposed so pushed on the door which was actually open anyway! Saw a narrow staircase with a 50-something Chinese woman coming down to greet me. This was a boner killer and I hoped she was hopefully the madam and the actual masseuse would be a bit younger. Alas that wasn’t to be!
In the hope of getting a massage by someone else, go up to the first floor to have boner killer #2. I find myself in a lounge where there is a guy making a cup of tea. And he is the one who works in the mobile shop I went to a few days ago! Ok this is getting weird I think but I ain’t no quitter (or too much of a wimp to walk away) so decided to go ahead and see what’s next. Get taken into a room off the living area which has a massage table, a few medical drawings and a certificate for the masseuse, Li. Ok it may have been expired since August 2018 but still...
Li points me to a paper fixed to the wall which has the rates. £25 for 30 minutes and £40 for an hour. Go for the half an hour one and pay her the cash. She asks me to strip and goes to the adjoining room to put the money away. As she opens the door to that room, the door to the living area swings open by itself and I find the mobile shop guy staring at me while stirring his tea. Now that wasn’t just a boner killer. It made Mr Johnson and the twins retract all the way back into my stomach!!
By this time I am scanning the room and don’t see a pack of wipes anywhere. Not that I was interested in the HJ anymore but that’s the first thing I normally do in a new place so that made me think whether or not it was actually a legit massage place afterall! £25 for half an hour of a pair of female hands would be my fix for the day. I strip but keep my pants on following all the boner killers and I really didn’t want to pay extra for a HJ to someone who was so much older than me but also someone who I had zero, nay, negative interest in taking any article of her clothing off.
The massage begins and I have zero expectations but it was FANTASTIC!!! Li really knows her stuff and this was hands down the best massage I had ever had and I have had my fair share of them. The half an hour flew by and she even threw in a session of hot stones for free. I had to stop her from doing cupping because firstly I have never had it and secondly how do I explain that to the Mrs. No thank you! Anyhow, the massage is done and she doesn’t go anywhere near the genitals (but then again I didn’t even take my pants off so can’t argue with that). She wipes the oil off and I walk out of there feeling like I was walking on air. The massage was just that good!
So in conclusion, having a shop in an alleyway with no advertising at all screams rub & tug which is why I went there in the first place. Everything I experienced either suggested it was a legit massage business or the environment was such that it put me off even asking for extras at all. I really cannot say if it’s on offer or not but if you have been to other places in town which are frequently reviewed (Balgrave Street, George Street, Oxford Road, Caversham etc) then this won’t be for you in terms of the physical appearance of the masseuse. However if you are actually after a legit massage then I could not recommend this place highly enough! My rating of neutral is based on what I went in for, downgrading my requirements based on the welcome I got but coming away feeling great which pushed it from a negative to neutral.
