HOT: The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art, Saatchi Gallery, The Duke of York's HQ, Kings Road, Chelsea SW3 4SQ

The Saatchi Gallery has been rehoused in the brilliant exhibition space of the grand Duke of York's HQ, and its opening exhibition was a collection of modern Chinese art. A lot of the artwork was visually arresting - creepy old men wheeling around in automated wheelchairs, the realistic man lying prone and licking the ground, a messy oversized bed (a la Tracy Emin) and body casts hanging on the ceiling. However, I can't say I thought any of it was actually good art - and there were some shockingly bad, boring or ugly works, including a giant turd (which really said it all). Worth it for a free look, but the Tate Modern is much, much better.

NOT: Magnificence of the Tsars, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington SW7 2RL

I was expecting a lot more from this exhibition but it was a pokey, crowded and flourescently white space stuck in the middle of the permanent Fashion exhibition. The sumptuously decorated jackets, coats and capes were displayed without any real historical context (except for the names of the particular Tsars for whom they had been made) and it was basically a collection of lots of mens military jackets. We whipped through in about 45 minutes with Huy making snide comments the whole time.

HOT: Victoria and Albert Museum Cafe, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington SW7 2RL

The V&A Cafe is as far removed from the ladle-of-slop-from-bain-marie as you can get. The tempting food is displayed in bright white surroundings, but the most stunning aspect are the refreshment rooms decorated by the leading designers of the late 1800s - Morrs, Gamble and Poynter. These three tiled and ornately decorated rooms formed the first museum restaurant in the world and they are romantic and awe-inspiring. On a Sunday they even have a classical pianist on the grand piano, whose music sweeps above the chatter of raucous families and elevates you to appreciate the beauty above your head.

HOT: Meryl Streep: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts regularly hosts events which celebrate the life and work of people in the film industry, from Cate Blanchett to Anthony Minghella. This time it was the turn of possibly the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep. She was a funny, intelligent and confident - certainly not self-deprecating and carefully dodged more difficult questions. Reading down her list of works it's clear that she's deliberately chosen to work in a wide range of genres in order to avoid being stereotyped - but the consistent thread through all her choices is her desire to undermine your assumptions or expectations about her character. This is what gives the depth and humanity in her roles. The selected clips from her filmography also impressed me with her mastery of accents (for which she's justly famous) - apparently to convince Alan J. Pakula that she was right for Sophie's Choice she read the director some poetry in Sophie's Polish voice, and to get Karen Blixen's accent she listened to tapes of Jeremy Irons' Danish nanny.

HOT: Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, Dalston E2 8EA

The Geffrye Museum is a well-planned museum featuring interiors of the English 'middling classes' from 1600 to present day. An Englishman's home is his castle, and displaying and discussing his choice of furnishings and designs uses an interesting perspective to teach about the social and cultural history of an era. There is currently a fascinating special exhibition called Choosing the Chintz, which explores the relationship between men and women when furnishing their home - I liked the video interviews of couples talking about their differences in tastes, their decision-making styles and learning to compromise.

HOT: La Vie en Rose, 2 Broadway Market, Hackney E8 4QG

I loved the eclectic and rustic decor of this French bistro/cafe (except for the bizarre anatomically incorrect French maid mural). That alone, plus the fantastic people-watching opportunities, pushes it to HOT, as the service was a definitely space cadet and the food (sliced white supermarket bread? canned pineapple?) wasn't all that special.

HOT: Cafe Gossip, Broadway Market E8 4QJ

This tiny cafe reminded me of the hole-in-the-wall places dotted throughout Melbourne. Deb and I casually stalked the picturesque window seat, but it seemed that the carrot cake was too good for the couple as they lingered in their prime position. Next time!

HOT: Off Broadway Gallery, 63-65 Broadway Market E8 4PH

A wander off Broadway and down some brick steps leads you to the fine art publishing house Off Broadway Gallery. It's a den filled with photographs of London (mostly printed on canvas) and manned by the personable Stephen, who told us that Hackney was the friendliest place that he'd ever been, anywhere in the world.

HOT: Sauce a part, 41 Broadway Market, Hackney E8 4PH

I've never had proper Creole food before and I was seduced by the smells and music coming from the basic street-side stovetops of Sauce a part. The super-friendly chef (and this was a noticeable feature of all the stallholders of Broadway Market) let us taste-test the tiger prawns, and as I couldn't choose between the prawns or the chicken, I decided to go for both.

NOT: R Cooke & Sons, 9 Broadway Market

I have to admit that I didn't actually taste-test any pies, mash or jellied eels from this quintessentially Cockney London pie and mash shop. However, I did get close enough to the window to glimpse the tureen of floating foam and eel bits, and catch a whiff of the awful smell. This is one local culinary experience I'm happy to do without.

HOT: Cicilcia, 1 Broadway Market, Hackney E8 4PH

On a cold day, the sunny conservatory of this bright Turkish restaurant was a welcome respite - and it seems to be very popular with families as there were lots of kids running underfoot. The 2 course lunch special had us dining on a filling selection of felafel, kofte and chicken betzi, moussaka - good, solid food for great value (7.95).

HOT: Fabrications, 7 Broadway Market, Hackney E8 4PH

Fabrications is a charming textiles and fabric shop which sells your standard wool and fabric, plus a selection of handcrafted products and accessories. It's a warm, tactile place that wants to inspire you to take up your knitting needles and glue gun.

HOT: Broadway Market, Hackney E8

I really like the motto of Broadway Market - Quality, Speciality Variety for the People by the People - and I really think it lives up to these words. On a cold Saturday a very local crowd of artfully dishevelled funksters strolled around the stalls and stores greeting friends, and it really seemed like a very social place. The varied food stalls (Ghanian, Indian vegetarian, felafel, Jewish) smelled delicious but unfortunately it was too cold for Deb and I to be eating outdoors.

HOT: V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, Hackney E2 9PA

The Museum of Childhood is housed in a Hansel and Gretel/Escher cubed pastel pink iron structure and it contains a large exhibition of toys, clothing and a fantastic Italian puppet theatre. As you'd expect from a childhood museum, it's a joyous and welcoming place, and the museum gift shop is adorable! Deb and I gushed over the novel toys, the picture books (Deb did a child literature course at uni) and Gentlemen pyjamas. I couldn't resist the Retro Robot Blackboard by Ivy Bespoke - a blackboard vinyl wall decal in the shape of a robot, which lets you chalk messages then wipe them off. More fun that post-its any day.

HOT: The Oak, 137 Westbourne Park Road, Notting Hill, W2 5QL

It was an intriguing idea - a joint 29.5 and 30.5 birthday party (cos summer birthdays are so underwhelming), but really just an excuse to dress up, eat out and meet people. The Oak is a decadently boudoir gastropub/bar dressed in high ceilings, vermillion feathered wallpaper, sleek low slung black lamps and frosted oval mirrors. Jutting off from the upstairs bar is a gorgeous private dining room featuring a long wooden table and long, low benches, perfect for our party of fifteen. Our well-executed set menu featured a course of extensive antipasto and charcuterie (I loooove cured meat), a choice of three mains (roast chicken breast with herbs and mushrooms) and a choice of three desserts (a dense thyme infused creme-brulee). There's no charge for booking the room, and it's only 35 pounds for 3 courses - so highly recommended for a private dining experience.

HOT: Comptoir des Cotonniers, 235 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill W11 2SE

Whenever I embark on my six-monthly pilgrimage to the Paris sales, my first stop is always the nearest Comptoir des Cotonniers. I love its use of muted colours with a punch of brights, beautifully cut coats, delicately draped and pleated crepe tops and general air of Frenchy chic insouance. While I wasn't able to make it to Paris this year, its biggest store in London is right on my doorstep. Twenty minutes before closing time, I managed a focused sweep of the raft of sales racks (better than Paris at the moment probably, what with the plunging exchange rate) and came away with a swing coat, puff-sleeved top, knitted camisole and subtle sailor-striped jersey cardigan, all for ridiculously cheap Topshop prices.

HOT: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, National Theatre, Southbank

I didn't actually get the title of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour until I realised that one of the characters (a schizophrenic who thought he had an orchestra in his head) talked only in musical terms - and of course 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' is a pneumonic for remembering the lines of the treble clef. I can't say that the somewhat dated plotline about a Soviet dissident imprisoned in a mental hospital, or any of the characters, really had me emotionally engaged. Nevertheless, this play gets a HOT because of two reasons. Firstly, I very much enjoyed Tom Stoppard's witty and twisting prose for the schizophrenic character, which often had me turning over a line in my head well after it'd been delivered. Secondly, the production was of a very high quality. I liked the integration of Andre Previn's music played by the full orchestra on stage, the physical dance sequence (although some of it was a bit literal 'here is the KGB beating people up') and the revolving floor of the set - a combination of stark hospital white tiles and the dim light of an orchestra pit.

HOT: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an F Scott Fitzgerald short story turned into a curious (yes really) fairy tale of life, mortality and enduring love. Brad Pitt is Benjamin, a baby abandoned on the steps of a New Orleans old folks home because he is born old. He is raised by the good-hearted matron of the home and one day meets Daisy (a luminous Cate Blanchett), who recognises a kindred childlikeness inside his old body. Over the years Daisy grows up and Benjamin grows young, until the day they meet in the middle and begin to live out the love that they have always had for each other. That's not the happily-ever-after though. As Benjamin grows younger and younger, he realises that he cannot raise his own daughter as she and Daisy get older, so he leaves them one day. Daisy finds him back at the old folks home and proceeds to take care of him in her old age, until he dies in her arms as a baby. A touching and distinctive film.

NOT: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

I haven't been a fan of Woody Allen's films for a while, and watching Scarlett Johansson 'act' is my worst cinematic nightmare, but hey, things we do for love.

Unfortunately, my fears were realised in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The dialogue was stiff and affected, particularly from sexually free-spirited artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Woody, could you have picked a more stereotypical male Latin-lover's name, and what kind of ridiculous things were you making him say?? Scarlett Johansson's unchanging, open-mouthed vacancy and bouncing breasts was the sum of her representation of sexually free-spirited student Cristina (or Vicky? I can't even remember). Her presence in the film moved me from boredom to frustration to giggling at inappropriate times. Rebecca Hall, played her not-sexually free-spirited friend and while she was more believable than SJ, she was still not believable in her sudden passion for Juan Antonio. The only redeeming feature in the film was not the one joke that was supposedly in it (when?) - it was the sun-drenched scenery of Barcelona and Penelope Cruz's turn as madly erratic Maria Elena. I would rather have watched her act around the Casa Mia, La Rambla, Barceloneta and Parc Guell for two hours.

HOT: Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a thrilling feel-good movie about an orphan child of the Mumbai slums who manages to win the ultimate prize on the tv show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, as well as finally winning the beautiful girl of his destiny. The colourful film switches constantly to flashback to explain how Jamal Malik's tumultous life has led him to knows the answer to every question. Throughout the film you are just rooting for him to succeed as he becomes an entrepeneur on the train tracks, escapes a life of blindness, finds work as a lowly chaiwallah and is released from prison to answer the final 20 million rupee question. Make sure you stay for the joyous closing dance sequence, in true Bollywood style.