Makwaen is traditionally added to larb dishes, but here it’s infused into a delightful massage oil.
Chiang Mai’s wellness centres and spas are world class and we are all spoilt for choice — uber cool city spas, traditional Thai massage experiences, treatments amidst nature and gimmicks galore.
The latest offering to have piqued our interest is quite unique. The city spa, just off the bustling moat on Sriphum Road, is modern, clean and built around the idea of sensory mindfulness and a low carbon footprint. There is a cafe serving healthy regional Thai dishes with low GI ingredients, alongside specialty coffees, teas and chocolates, which is a pleasant enough way to pass an hour. The spa itself is of a standard and perfectly lovely.
But it was the oil, specifically the makwaen oil, that drew us. While they also offer charming sounding oils such as mango and sticky rice or galangal, it’s the recent collaboration with Chiang Mai University’s FIN (Food Innovation and Packaging Centre) that magic was made. The signature treatment uses this house-developed makwaen oil, a partnership formalised with an MOU signing in July, with the two now refining the formula specifically for spa application. Makwaen itself is a Northern Thai spice with a long history in traditional medicine, used for its anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and fever-reducing properties, and it’s been shown to carry antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-tumour benefits too.
None of that would matter much if the massage itself didn’t hold up, and it did. The oil was strikingly smooth from the first touch, gliding rather than dragging, and it absorbed into the skin almost completely by the end of the session — no greasy film, no tackiness, nothing left behind to towel off. It’s a small thing, but it changes how a massage feels start to finish.
If you like treating your body and soul to some gentle loving, then check out the new makwaen oil massage at ASMR Massage and Wellness Chiang Mai.