TWG makes Singapore's most famous tea, and I had the good fortune of attending the opening day of their ION Orchard tea shop, where you can sample 400 teas from their 800-plus tea collection and purchase not only tea, but macaroons and tea accessories, as well.

Naturally, as a Luxist writer, I went straight for the gold -- the Yellow Gold Tea Buds (above), that is. Tea number T601 is not only TWG's, but the world's most expensive tea. Why? Because it's difficult to get -- and painted with actual gold.

I spoke for a bit with TWG tea connoisseur Alexandre Mallochet (his hand is pictured) about the tea and why it is so valuable -- $150 Singapore for 50 grams (that's about $105.71 -- and a typical teabag is about 2 grams, so that's 25 cups of tea).

To start with, it's only harvested on one mountain, one day per year. "This tea is harvested exclusively with golden scissors and only from the top of the tree which is the tea bud. It's then sun dried and placed into closed containers to slightly heat the tea leaves so they can release the polyphenols that they contain and give a yellowish colour to the leaves and a very soft and flowery taste," said Mallochet. The tea is then painted with 24 carat gold flakes which, in Asia, are considered very good for you, and give the tea a beautiful golden shimmer. Mallochet claims that the gold provides nutrition, as well -- it's a mineral, after all.

"It's the tea of the Emperors of China and it is still today very complicated to find some. TWG can access to this tea thanks the privileged relationships we cultivated through the years of sourcing tea plantations worldwide."

At this time, the tea is not available online, so you'll have to find a shop near you or go to Singapore to find some. You'd better hope the dollar keeps rising!

Even in this economy, tea, for the most part, is one area where consumers continue to go gourmet. For more information check out Daily Finance's recent piece on gourmet foods still selling well.

This trip was paid for by the Singapore Board of Tourism, but the views expressed within the post are 100% my own.

Ready to eat the most luxurious curry around? For £2,000 a portion, the London restaurant Bombay Brasserie is serving Samundari Khazana, or Seafood Treasure. The dish includes caviar, abalone, sea snails, truffle shavings , a whole lobster splashed in edible gold and four hollowed-out quail eggs stuffed with caviar. The curry was launched to coincide with the DVD launch of the movie Slumdog Millionaire. You can see a picture over at the Daily Mail.

The latest random object to get plated in platinum and studded with diamonds is, of all things, a CD case. Displayed in Tokyo the CD is called simply "Woman, Sweet 10 Diamonds," and features a case of platinum with 10 2-carat diamonds embedded on the front. The CD case was created through a collaboration between Universal Music and Japanese jeweler Nagahori and is valued at $100,000.

And apparently the actual music on the CD is of little importance, since it's only ever referred to very generally as "18 songs by female vocalists." Wow.

Here in the U.S. many get their Shrove Tuesday pancakes at IHOP. But in Manchester, England a restaurant, Opus in the Printworks, has created the world's most expensive pancake for Fat Tuesday, a sumptuous repast costing £144. The pancake beats the 2007 offering from Earlsdon Cottage by £49. The Manchester Evening News says that the pancake is flavored with Madagascan vanilla pods and sprinkled with edible gold leaf. It is served with organic strawberries and jelly made from Dom Perignon champagne.

It seems whenever there's some kind of exorbitantly expensive food there's an ingredient that almost always makes an appearance: truffles. This sandwich, called LE "SANDWICH" TIEDE A LA TRUFFE FRAÎCHE, and created by French chef Michel Rostang, is no exception. It will appeal to purists mostly as it is amazingly simple: fresh truffles are sliced and placed on toasted country bread with salted butter. The sandwich sits for two nights (so the flavors can marinate together) and then the whole thing is lightly grilled on both sides. That's it. Heck, if you have some spare truffles lying around you can make this at home instead of a grilled cheese or something. Or maybe not. 98 €

The world's most expensive Barbie doll debuted her flashy self in Mexico City this week, sparkling from head to little plastic toes in diamonds and white gold, and honoring the release of her newest film "Barbie and the Diamond Castle."

Intended only as a publicity stunt (don't expect to see her sitting next to 'Surfs-Up Beach Barbie' on Walmart shelves this Christmas) she was adorned with 318 diamonds total, displayed on a tiny tiara, earrings, necklace, bracelet, ring, and slippers. She's valued at 1 million pesos, or about $94,000.

I think the best part of her outfit has be the diamond Barbie ring -- several things are out of realistic proportion when it comes to Barbie but imagine the relative size of that rock! I bet Ken is feeling a little inadequate about now...

Via Luxury Launches

Bruce Oldfield is a celebrated British couturier that has risen to fame by dressing royalty for weddings. He's mostly worked with women (Queens and princesses) and he seems to be staying with that trend even as he expands his horizons into the Islamic realm and has designed what is being hailed as the world's most expensive abaya.

The demand for designer luxury apparel for the Islamic community is growing, although only a privileged few will be able to afford this garment. Featuring bespoke Crosley diamonds on the collar and cuff, fine black silk, and taffeta, the abaya is valued at about $364,000.

Wow, this story is hilarious. I love fruit but I'm not so sure I'm interested in trying Durian (a fruit growing ever more popular with Southeast Asians and Chinese) because not only does it cost upwards of $200 a piece but apparently it smells like gasoline. Or garbage. Or manure. Or stinky socks. Take your pick, none of the descriptors are good.

So why do people prize this fruit so much? I guess once you cut them open you can separate the stinky part from the edible part, which is reportedly very sweet, nutty, and almost custard-like, and it's quite tasty. $200 tasty.

Champagne is always considered a fairly luxurious drink (even when it's the cheap stuff) but any champagne, cheap or not, is sure to get a class upgrade when it gets served in one of these two glasses. Valued at $400,000 and blinged out with 1,700 white and pink diamonds the glasses were chiseled out of 8kg blocks of rock quartz crystal and it took 5 jewelers 3 months to put them all together.

The set was designed by John Calleija and although they'll be present at the opening of his second store in London they'll eventually be returning to the home of the Melbourne businessman who bought them and plans to turn them into family heirlooms.

Of all the restaurants that might offer a $200 truffle-laden burger on their menu Burger King is probably one of the last ones, if not the last one, that comes to mind. But believe it or not Burger King has launched a $200 hamburger called simply "The Burger" that features Wagyu beef, white truffles, Pata Negra ham slices, Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, lambs lettuce, pink Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine, and shallot-infused mayonnaise all served up on an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun.

That's quite a list of ingredients.

"The Burger" will be on sale once per week in London and proceeds go to benefit the Help a London Child charity.

I can't believe that a handbag made of platinum, over 2,000 diamonds, and valued at almost $2 million doesn't have a name other than "diamond and platinum handbag." We first mentioned this beauty of a bag about a year ago when it was on display in Tokyo and now it seems it will be making it's way around London in honor of London Jewelry Week.

Designed by Ginza Tanaka, the bag features a diamond shoulder strap that can be removed and worn as a necklace, plus the large (8ct) pear-shaped diamond decorating the front of the bag can be removed and worn as a brooch.

The bag is available for sale but due to security concerns the locations where it will appear will not be given to the public ahead of time -- I guess it's just a lucky "right place at the right time" kind of guessing situation if you want to see it!

Watermelon is one of the signature fruits of summer, and although (considering today's economy) I'm willing to pay more for it than I used to I'm not so sure I'd be willing to pay upwards of $6,000 for a single melon! But at least one man in Japan was as he bid on and won an auction for a 17lb Densuke watermelon for a whopping $6,100. Despite the fact that watermelon is considered a luxury in Japan and that this particular kind of melon only grows in one place (on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan), this auction marks the highest selling price ever for a watermelon in Japan, and most likely the world.

Our friends at Aisledash recently did a post on some of the world's most expensive shoes but they didn't mention the pair I actually got to see last week. At the Le Vian party in Las Vegas one of the displays included these $2 million shoes from Stuart Weitzman. The silver leather heels feature over 185 carats of tanzanite and 28 carats of diamonds. The front strap features a slim strap of diamonds but the heavy gemstones are designed to curve around the ankle with a 16 carat pear-shaped tanzanite drop surrounded by diamonds that dangles down over the top of the foot. The shoes were behind glass so I didn't get to examine them up close but the stones do seem to be mounted directly onto the leather rather than being immediately removable.

The Fleur de Lys restaurant in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay may serve French cuisine but that hasn't stopped them from adapting their own version of an American classic: the hamburger. Called the "Fleurburger 5000" it's no Plain Jane either, featuring a juicy Kobe beef patty topped with a rich truffle sauce and served on a brioche truffle bun. And this burger comes with its own beverage, a bottle of 1990 Chateau Petrus, that is served in Ichendorf Brunello stemware that you get to keep.

It sounds (and looks) delicious -- as well it should for the whopping price tag of $5000. And if you do decide to indulge no worries about bragging rights: you can bring a friend (they get a free burger when you order yours) and you'll also get a certificate in the mail (along with your keepsake glass) so you'll have both a witness and paper proof.