| The Parlor | The Layout | What Happens | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Deal Melanie's Body and Foot Massage | Two tiny rooms inside Tinny Beauty School. Ignore the scary machines and bevy of heavily made-up women outside. | Helen works wonders with a steamed towel, and her Thai foot massage ends with an awe-inspiring knee rub. | 75 cents a minute, 126 Lafayette St., nr. Canal St., second fl. 917-680-7843. |
| Best Facial Katy's Face Center | Cluttered, well-equipped four-room spa. | Katy, a 41-year-old industrious Hong Konger, makes you fill out a very detailed questionnaire. Her face massage is exquisite. | $1 a minute, 184 Mott St., nr. Kenmare St.; 212-226-3278. |
| Best Walkin Wu Lim Services | Cavernous rooms of four to fourteen beds filled with naked women draped with towels. Not for the modest. | The masseurs talk to each other constantly, but you get sixteen minutes of invigorating Chi Quong. Men might prefer 179 Grand, where the clientele is more male. | 70 cents a minute 145 Grand St., nr. Lafayette St.; 212-925-1276; 179 Grand St., nr. Baxter St.; 212-334-3909. |
Getting a Massage
How do you choose from among the dozens of FOOT BACK RUB! basement entrances? Aim for 70 cents a minute. Skip places that charge more than $1 a minute unless you really crave a door that closes and a table longer than five feet eight.
- The ENDURING MICRO-CITY, Indifferent to Change
- Decoding the CHINATOWN STOREFRONT
- Random Cool Cheap Stuff: A Hand-Painted Scroll, CROC KNOCKOFFS, Designer Glasses for Less
- Where to Get the Best Facial, Massage, and FOOT BACK RUB!
- SUCCESSFUL BARGAINING in Six Easy Steps
- Fatty Crab CHEF ZAK'S Favorite Neighborhood Markets and Eateries
- There's More to Do Than Eat: KARAOKE, ART, NIGHTLIFE, and Chinese History
- Mary's Fish Camp GARBAGE FISH RECIPE
- The EAST BROADWAY MAP
- A Visual Guide to Chinatown's Most INTRIGUING INGREDIENTS
- CONDOS Finally Come to Chinatown, Sort Of
- The Best LATE-NIGHT SPOTS for Fried Dumplings, Eight-Pound Lobster, or Roast Pork
Email
PrintAdvertising
Most Popular Stories
Most Commented
Last 24 Hours
- Health Care Squeaks by in the House
- House Expected to Vote on Health Care Tonight
- Hungry?
- Joe Lieberman Has Not Suddenly Gotten Cool with the Public Option
- Leighton Meester's Music Video Finally Hits the Internet
- Meet Jho Low: NYC Club Scene's
- Some Things That Might Happen on the Mad Men Finale Tonight
- If It Walks Like a Gossip Girl and Talks Like a Gossip Girl...
- This Just In: Spanx Can Be Very Embarrassing
- Behold: Harper’s Bazaar’s Twilight Issue
Most Viewed
Last 24 Hours
- Some Things That Might Happen on the Mad Men Finale Tonight
- Leighton Meester's Music Video Finally Hits the Internet
- What a Strange Trip It’s Been
- Meet Jho Low: NYC Club Scene's
- Olivia Palermo Will Dress Like a Hippie If She Feels Like It
- Matthew Weiner Gives Hints About Tomorrow's Mad Men Season Finale
- Getting Levi Johnston Naked
- Fashion Designers and Labels Guide
- Former Bear Stearns Exec Loses $22 Million in One Hand of Poker
- Ewan McGregor and Craig Ferguson Have a 15-minute Giggle Fit
Most Emailed
Last 24 Hours
- Another Kind of AIDS Crisis
- What a Strange Trip It’s Been
- Sneak Preview: MoMA’s Tim Burton Retrospective
- Some Things That Might Happen on the Mad Men Finale Tonight
- A Critical (But Highly Sympathetic) Reading of New Yorkers’ Sexual Habits and Anxieties
- This Just In: Spanx Can Be Very Embarrassing
- Why Is Nancy Pelosi Always Smiling?
- Olivia Palermo Will Dress Like a Hippie If She Feels Like It
- Ewan McGregor and Craig Ferguson Have a 15-minute Giggle Fit
- The Great New York Neoclassical Neapolitan Pizza Revolution
Subscribe to New York
Behind Tim Burton's MoMA Retrospective
How Nicholas Coppola Became Nicholas Cage
Brooklyn's Wild, Prospering Music Scene
Zach Gilford on Leaving Friday Night Lights
Nine Winter Fashion Trends 
Fake Buyers Are Back at Open Houses 
Look Book: The Mixed Martial Arts Fighters 
Elevated, Reinvented Italian Basics at A Voce
The Times Journalist Too Big To Fail
Can NBC Be Saved? 
Bloomberg's New Political Challengers
