What is the most overrated luxury food?

Price tags here run into the thousands; whether the taste keeps up is the whole argument.

1. 1
   Kopi luwak

   Indonesian coffee made from beans eaten and excreted by civets, sold for hundreds of dollars a pound.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Lobster

   Served whole with drawn butter and a bib, the classic special-occasion splurge.
   777pts
3. 3
   Bluefin tuna

   Fatty otoro sushi from the fish whose first auction of the year in Tokyo can fetch millions.
   678pts
4. 4
   Champagne

   Sparkling wine that can only carry the name if it comes from France's Champagne region.
   678pts
5. 5
   Yubari King melon

   A Japanese cantaloupe grown in Hokkaido, with pairs sold at auction for thousands of dollars.
   678pts
6. 6
   Gold-leaf dishes

   Edible 24-karat gold flaked over steaks, burgers and desserts, adding shine but no flavour.
   555pts
7. 7
   Jamón ibérico

   Spanish acorn-fed black-pig ham, cured for up to four years.
   555pts
8. 8
   Fugu

   Pufferfish sashimi prepared by licensed chefs, since a mistake can be fatal.
   555pts
9. 9
   Caviar

   Salt-cured sturgeon roe, served by the spoonful at eye-watering prices.
   0pts
10. 10
    Truffles

    Underground fungi sniffed out by dogs and pigs and shaved over pasta.
    0pts
11. 11
    Wagyu beef

    Japanese beef so marbled it looks pink-white, with Kobe as its most famous brand.
    0pts
12. 12
    Oysters

    Raw shellfish slurped from the shell with lemon, loved and loathed in equal measure.
    0pts
13. 13
    Foie gras

    Fattened duck or goose liver, a French classic banned in several places.
    0pts
14. 14
    Saffron

    Hand-picked crocus stigmas, the most expensive spice by weight.
    0pts
15. 15
    Matsutake mushrooms

    Pine mushrooms prized in Japan for their spicy aroma, costing hundreds of dollars per kilo.
    0pts
16. 16
    Sea urchin (uni)

    The orange, creamy gonads of the sea urchin, served on sushi rice.
    0pts
17. 17
    Bird's nest soup

    A Chinese delicacy made from the hardened saliva nests of swiftlets.
    0pts

Comments