Almas Caviar: the $35,000 kilogram with a gold tin
Harvested from a rare albino sturgeon and sold in 24-carat gold tins, Almas is less a snack than a lesson in scarcity.
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Stories worth
savouring.
Long reads about the food people travel for: why some ingredients cost a fortune, how a dish becomes a status symbol, and what is actually worth ordering when you get there.
White Alba truffle: why a kilogram costs more than a car
The white truffle cannot be farmed, keeps its perfume for only a few days, and is found by dogs that are often better paid than the humans.
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Bluefin tuna: the fish that sells for millions
A single bluefin once changed hands for ¥333.6 million at a Tokyo auction. Behind the headline is a story about biology, quotas and the theatre of the first sale.
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Kobe beef: what the certificate actually buys you
Kobe is not a breed, a cooking style or a marketing word. It is a protected regional name with a paper trail — and most 'Kobe' sold abroad is neither.
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Densuke watermelon: the $4,000 black melon
Jet-black skin, a tiny annual harvest and a culture that treats fruit as a formal gift: the Densuke is the clearest example of Japanese luxury fruit.
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Black Ivory coffee: the $1,500/kg coffee made by elephants
It takes about 33 kilograms of coffee cherries to make one kilogram of beans. The elephants do the hard part — and the economics explain the rest.
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Jamón Ibérico de Bellota: Spain's acorn-fed treasure
Four years of curing, a diet of acorns and a pig that can gain 50 kilograms in a single autumn: jamón ibérico is slow food with a very high price tag.
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Bird's nest soup: the $10,000/kg 'caviar of the East'
The nest is made from the saliva of a swiftlet, cleaned strand by strand, and simmered into a soup that has been a status symbol for centuries.
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Fugu: why this deadly fish commands a premium
A fish that can kill you, a licence that takes years to earn, and a winter season that lasts only a few months. Fugu is luxury built on risk and regulation.
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Ayam Cemani: Indonesia's all-black 'Lamborghini chicken'
Feathers, skin, meat and even bones are black. The Ayam Cemani is a genetic curiosity, a ceremonial bird and, for collectors, a very expensive status symbol.
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Street food around the world: how to eat well, safely and like a local
How to choose a busy stall, read a menu, manage dietary needs and enjoy street food with confidence.
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At the table: food customs every international traveller should know
Shared plates, tipping, chopsticks and eating with your hands — how to approach unfamiliar dining customs respectfully.
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Your first international trip: a calm, practical guide from booking to arrival
Documents, money, connectivity, transfers, packing and the first day abroad, without the last-minute panic.
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