An 8,000 square-feet full-service hair salon that also has a cafe and retail space?!
We’re talking about the newly opened You Are My Sunshine at Ngee Ann City. If you find its name very similar to the popular Walking On Sunshine that’s located at Orchard Central, that’s because both beauty and lifestyle spots are opened by the same owner.
We visited You Are My Sunshine to find out why it’s calling itself “the biggest beauty and lifestyle mecca in Singapore”.
You Are My Sunshine salon review
Anyone who is in the retail business would tell you that space is super valuable. Before the days of safe distancing restrictions, it is normal to see salons pack several seats together so they can service as many customers as possible at the same time.
You Are My Sunshine, on the other hand, is all about the luxury of space.
The moment you step into its salon, you’ll notice a huge waiting area with plush sofas for customers to chill out at or even work from before or after their hair appointment.
I was surprised to see a number of people working hard at their laptops and others taking a short nap at this resting area.
Inside the salon, you’ll notice a completely different sight from the “open-ness” that you see at the front.
The salon is organised into “cubicle-like” spaces that only accommodate two seats. Each of these spaces is assigned to one hairstylist, which gives a lot of privacy to each customer.
I was told that each stylist usually only serve one customer at a time, but even on the busiest days, the stylist could at most serve two customers at the same time.
“Try our S$20,000 chair!” the PR representative told me, as I walked into the “cubicle” of my stylist Issac.
I took a seat on its comfortable and very expensive chair that reminds me of business-class seats in an airplane.
I can get my hair washed without leaving my seat.
This unique chair can be electronically repositioned to make the seat higher, lower, and even recline completely. A basin can be pushed and fixed to the seat so you can do a hair-wash at the cubicle, without needing you to leave the seat.
All of these gives the customer further comfort and privacy.
Of course, like Walking on Sunshine and its other sister salon Leekaja (located at Mandarin Gallery), the service you can expect is top-notched.
In fact, You Are My Sunshine is so confident of its service, it promises to give you a free touch-up within eight days should you complain that their services had fallen short of your expectations.
But this wasn’t something that they had to worry about.
The hair treatment that Issac gave me left my damaged hair looking a lot smoother and definitely more manageable than before. He also gave me a cut that helps make my hair look healthier and easier to manage.
You Are My Sunshine cafe review
Another highlight of You Are My Sunshine is certainly its casual-dining restaurant that serves Korean-Western fusion food. The menu features fresh, sustainable wholefoods that are largely free from highly processed ingredients.
I tried its Alfredo Bulgogi Fettucine, which was recommended by one of their servers. I wouldn’t say it impressed me, but it was a pleasant surprise that Korean bulgogi and Italian pasta could actually go well together.
The cafe also has a Ginseng drink menu that intrigued me. I ordered a Ginseng Milk Latte and was glad that it was a very smooth and pleasant drink. The ginseng taste was subtle and – like the Bulgogi Fettucine – was an “odd” combination that worked.
I returned another day for a meal with my friends and ordered their signature Fluffy Souffle Pancake this time. Soft and fluffy, the pancake was a crowd-pleaser that we all enjoyed, although I’d say that it’s slightly pricey at S$25, it’s huge enough for four to share.
All in all, I can see myself returning and spending quite a few hours at the salon and cafe, even by myself, as some kind of a “day-cation”. A haircut starts at S$80 with a stylist, so it is a rather reasonable price for a little me-time for anyone.
You Are My Sunshine is located at 391B Orchard Road, Ngee Ann City, #05-05A, Singapore 238874, daily from 11am to 10pm.
