I concur fully, back in the late 80's, NYC was a wonderful place to visit a true AMP. Back then they were two types: Only Asian, and those that advertised on 'Screw". The Asian houses were huge establishments, with 20-30 + Korean woman, the Chinese was not present yet. These places catered only to Asian. The houses would be multi- level, with dry saunas. To enter a house, sit down, and enjoy a drink, while checking the woman all sitting on couches, across from you. That was truly priceless. The other AMP that were for non-Asian, were older providers, at smaller establishments, only about 4 providers. Similar to the business model we have today.
Full bar, clouds and clouds of cigarette smoke, the mamasan cooking fish soup, rice, fresh kimchee being made, high-energy places, very social before you settled down to business, scotch on the rocks delivered to you in the dry sauna, Japanese business men and kung-fu and martial arts clients, cocaine sometimes. Finish up and all go to Studio 54 and we always got picked to go in and not denied access because of the rarity of Asians in the club gave it ambience.
And I remember the absolute "shock" of finding out that the Chinese were now entering the business. Because Japanese and Korean girls always gave "shiatsu" style and the Chinese did "tuina" style. "Shiatsu" was the gold standard for the Japanese and Koreans. To name a few places for you old-timers: Kabuki at 777 Seventh Avenue in the Taft Hotel and Salon de Tokyo on 57th Street and then up and down 56th Street the Koreans opened up spas for the Japanese customers attending the bars and sushi restaurants and by the late 70's, early 80's the Japanese spas were all sold out to the Koreans and the Koreans started opening spas in the 30's, K-town and it was all good, and then came the Chinese and the downfall of "Screw" magazine and the Village Voice, New York Magazine and later New York Press, Queens Tribune and just about any local paper advertised for the 100's of spas and apartment massage joints and then the Craigslist explosion and Billy Joel put it aptly: "We didn't start the fire; It was always burning, since the world's been turning."
But the old-time places had a very distinguished true Far-Eastern depth of experience. Because back then east was east and west was west. The girls were so thoroughly Asian. And to go to a place for 2 or 3 hours because your drinks and showers and sauna, steam, hot and cold baths, hundreds of towels, and social time never impinged on your full-hour or hour and a half, two hour massage plus happy-time, so it was like a trip to "The Far East." You walked out of that door having had a surreal experience and you needed to re-acclimate yourself to the western world again. Now-a-days, east and west have comingled.
I find myself going further and further east to experience that pure Asian culture unadulterated by western civilization but it is hard to find. I should be wise to the fact by now that all things change; nothing remains the same. But that was almost a given because east remained east and west remained west for many thousands of years and right before my very eyes, in the theatre of Asian spas, I have witnessed the collapse and comingling of cultures. "Que Sera Sera," and "Sayonara."