Have a Butcher's!

The Ginger Pig at 99 Lauriston Road is my favourite shop in Hackney. That is quite difficult for me to say because I love shopping in Hackney. Why is it so good? Quite simply, the meat comes from happy, well looked after animals from Yorkshire farms. And the highly knowledgable, friendly butchers are apparently as happy as the pigs.  They've got all the cuts you'd expect, plus 20 kinds of delicious sausages. The downstairs deli sells superb meat pies that are a meal in themselves and legendary sausage rolls. 'Wow, I have had sausage rolls before. But that is something else', declared Raf, HackneyHome's decorator (www.hackneyhome.co.uk). I no longer buy meat from anywhere else – not even M&S's organic range compares. The Ginger Pig also does highly recommended evening butchery courses. We know they are good because Joel at the hilariously surreal rathergood.com told us. His 'You Want a Piece of Meat' video, in which Britney dances with a chop the size of her head, and The Ginger Pig's very own HogBlog www.thegingerpig.co.uk are both well worth a look.

Have a Butcher's!

On the Shelf

These are some of the books I have written or edited. South America, particularly Brazil, is my speciality, but I also write a lot about Europe and the UK too. I have just had three guides to Marrakech published by the AA. My Michelin guide to Rio de Janeiro will be published in September and I have just been commissioned to update an AA guide to Amsterdam. On June 18th, I will be doing a book reading in Book Box, my local book store on Chatsworth Road, with Iain Sinclair and Sarah Wise, both pretty big name Hackney writers. 

Namo - Outstanding Vietnamese Restaurant

'Outstanding'. 'Amazing'. These are words that are rarely uttered by my husband – an accomplished cook and a very considered critic. But Namo's food is both of those things. And the restaurant is a lovely, friendly, funky neighbourhood operation that reminded us of some of our favourites in New York. We began with fine, icy lychee vodka cocktails laced with lemongrass and moved on to a very decent Pinot Grigio and 'Hue' –a very good, golden, hoppy Vietnamese beer. Yes, we did eat too. We shared a first course of crispy duck, which was perfect – only lightly shredded, with a dark, thick, crunchy skin. Smearing the pancakes with the sweet plum sauce, we eagerly filled them with the delicate matchsticks of cucumber before loading them with the richly aromatic duck. Iain ordered Bo Vi Huong, a deliciously soupy beef curry spiced with native star anise and egg fried rice. I had Cha Ca La Vong - the signature dish from a hundred-year-old Hanoi restaurant. Monkfish is marinated in tumeric and a tangy shrimp sauce and served with vermicelli, creating a wonderful mix of textures and flavours. Both were outstanding. Pak choi is one of the few vegetables my Scottish husband really enjoys, but even I was surprised when he exclaimed that our side dish in a thick ginger and sesame soy sauce was 'amazing'. The whole bill came – with a sweet, little parcel of pastel coloured jelly beans and a 'thank you' label – to just over 50 pounds. A very good price for excellent, authentic food, served with love by the helpful, happy staff. Namo is on 178 Victoria Park Road, E9 7HD. Tel 0208 533 0639. www.namo.co.uk

Save money by going on holiday

I own an apartment on Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast, in the village of St Vlas. Long sandy beaches, water sports, an upmarket marina (www.dineviandco.com), and a charming UNESCO village, with cobbled streets and medieval churches are all minutes away. You can rent it from £30 a day. It sleeps six, so that's a fiver each. Dinner with wine is another £5 and a pint of beer just 70p (www.pintprice.com). S0, its' true: you can actually save money by going on holiday here. The spacious apartment's got two balconies, and sea and moutain views. It is fully equipped, with a modern kitchen in a four-star complex with 14 swimming pools, and a variety of bars and restaurants. The weather and water temperature is like that of the Mediterranean - but much cheaper. Call Jane on 07956 934768 or email me at jane@hackneyhome.co.uk What are you waiting for? 

Massaging Figures

No, this is not a comment on today's unremarkable budget. I want to tell you about an amazing woman, called Tracey in Hackney, who works as a masseuse and beauty therapist. As a travel writer, I have had massages and spa treatments all over the world, but Tracey's are the best I have had. She will come to your home (depending on where you live) and give you the deepest tissue massage you can imagine, or a reviving facial, or waxing.

To book, contact us via www.hackneyhome.co.uk.

Me and My Shed

In the bottom of my Hackney garden, is my office. Sometimes its my log cabin, sometimes my summer house, but mostly just my 'shed'. It is higher spec than our house, with double glazing, stylish slimline radiator and an environmentally friendly seedam grass roof that changes colour with the seasons. Surrounded by trees and gardens, I feel like I am in the woods, with squirrels scampering noisily over the roof and local cats pressing their faces against the glass. The huge windows mean it is always flooded with light, and when I have had enough of writing, there's a sofa and a mini bar.