My body felt like a slab of meat being tenderised during the $180 Aventurine Green Claypot Prata Therapy at Rustic Nirvana spa in Liang Seah Street.

But instead of honey marinade, the sauce was the traditional jamu paste that left me smelling like a giant sng bueh (preserved sour plum).

The tenderiser took the shape of a blunt piece of gemstone called aventurine green quartz. The stone has supposed cellulite- and toxin-reducing qualities when used with a specific massage technique.

The masseuse scraped my body with it, causing me to wince in pain. I pleaded with her to go easy on my flabby spots.

Respite came when she reached for some lumps of rice-flour prata dough, heated in a claypot.

She spread the dough on my body's pressure points - these are places that are painful when rubbed or pressed. The treatment is said to help relieve tense muscles. And the rice-flour dough is supposed to help speed up the extraction of 'heatiness' from the body and release stress.

Chinese traditional medicine practitioners believe 'heatiness' causes ulcers, sore throats, nose bleeds and fevers.

Overall, the 60-minute massage claimed to improve blood circulation and have slimming effects.

I found concentrating at work after the treatment a challenge. Despite the pain, the massage really helped loosen my muscles, so I felt relaxed and drowsy.

The Holy Tapas Massage - at Citispa, $488 for a 45-minute therapy - started with a deep-tissue massage with ginger oil and traditional Chinese cupping techniques (a cup is dragged across the aching parts of your body).

Then came the unnerving bit: the 'tapas' or fire. My head was covered by a cloth and I could not see.

The masseuese put alcohol-soaked pieces of cloth on my back, placed a damp towel on these, put a rope dipped in a concoction of 14 Chinese herbs on top and set it on fire.

I expected strong heat but instead felt a soothing gradual build-up of warmth that almost lulled me to sleep as the flames from the burning herbs danced on my back.

The masseuse assured me my hair would not catch fire as the flames would burn only in areas where she had placed the rope and squirted lighter fluid.

The treatment is said to be good for removing toxins, gas and reducing water retention.

Later, I did feel lighter in weight but the best part was I fell asleep almost immediately that night as my muscles, especially those on my back, felt very relaxed.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Oct 12, 2008.