Strip x I Love Koi: Shanghai Summer Orange Bikini Fashion Show

Summer is definitely here, and with it comes bikini season, and in order to rock a bikini, you had better be hair-free!

Strip Manila and I Love Koi have a very happy symbiotic relationship. Ideally, you want to be hair-free before slipping into a bikini - which is why the two joined forces to create the perfect bikini celebrating Strip's limited edition wax, Shanghai Summer Orange. The exclusive bikini fashion was held at Privé Luxury Club, with Manila's hottest young celebs and socialites in attendance.

Check out some of I Love Koi's newest bikinis for Summer 2013:

Tea 101: The Benefits of Tea at da.u.de Tea Lounge

Drinking tea in the Philippines isn't what you'd call a way of life. The English have it with their breakfast and then late in the afternoon for tea time, the Chinese always take it after every meal, and the Indians and Arabs like to take theirs with a ton of sugar to help them relax and unwind. Why didn't Filipinos develop this habit? If we drank as much tea as we did beer, we'd all be in much better shape.

I like spending my afternoons at da.u.de Tea Lounge whenever I get the chance, and just chat about tea with Renée Sebastian, the owner and Certified Tea Master. Renée always takes some time out of her year to travel, looking independent tea farmers and hand-blending her teas. All of the teas at da.u.de have her stamp of approval and have been blended by her, for you to enjoy. The teas aren't at all expensive either, so feel free to buy a packet of your favorite blend.

If you're not familiar with the types of teas and their benefits, here's a rundown of what you can choose from at da.u.de Tea Lounge:

PODE!: Meal Prepping for the Week

Living as a busy, young urbanite in Manila can be daunting - we all grew up with house help and the idea of fending on our own before getting married is sacrilegious in the eyes of our parents. But hey, you've got to leave the nest sometime, right? So here's a tip: Save a bit more time during the rest of the week by prepping some ingredients on a weekend.

I think living by myself is the biggest excuse I've had to keep on ordering fast food. Logically speaking, it's cheaper and a lot more convenient to spend P150 on take out at a fast food joint than going grocery shopping and cooking your own meals, right? Wrong - and your body will hate you in the long run!

I usually do this after I've planned out my meals for the week and gone grocery shopping. If you don't have the time to spend in the kitchen, then cut your cooking time in half by prepping your food on a weekend before the hectic week starts so you get half the work out of the way already.

Makati's Turkish Secret: Combos Bread Company Bakery & Café

Growing up in Dubai, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food is my version of comfort food. I long for my shawarmas, biryanis, hummus, and falafels as much as the next Arabic expat, and good Middle Eastern food can be very hard to come by here. Good and affordable Middle Eastern food is like finding a unicorn in the heart of Makati.

I found my kebab unicorn in Combos Bread Company Bakery & Café - a bakery in the morning turned restaurant in the afternoon cum bar at night. Located near Rockwell, it is tucked away in one of Makati's side streets and can be a bit hard to find, but once you do you, you'll probably keep on coming back for the authentic Turkish food.

Patisserie Kyo: A Real Japanese Bakery

Have you ever wondered where to find the perfect strawberry short cake? If your idea of the perfect strawberry short cake is moist, creamy, and ethereally light with just the right amount of strawberries on top, then wonder no more for you can find just that at Patisserie Kyo.

I saw a shout out on my friend's Facebook about a food tasting at a new Japanese patisserie that had recently opened its doors at BGC. My curiosity piqued, and I just had to check it out for myself. A Japanese patisserie is such a foreign concept to me, I'm ashamed to admit the only thing I was expecting was probably mochi and red bean paste buns. I wasn't entirely wrong, but I was in for a very pleasant surprise as well.

Any Burger is Possible at BRGR: The Burger Project

After a nightmare experience of getting a check cashed at Metrobank on a really hot afternoon, Jericho and I found ourselves at Jupiter street, starving and craving for a pitcher of cool, refreshing Iced Tea at Pino Bar. To our dismay, they were closed that afternoon for service training, but the helpful guard suggested we try their other restaurant that was located right behind them instead. And that is how we happily discovered BRGR: The Burger Project.