Hong Kong - Around the world, families are looking with apprehension at the upcoming Christmas festivities, prepared to tighten their belts as the global financial turmoil takes its toll. In wealthy Hong Kong, however, people are still ready and willing to splurge, spending 17,600 US dollars a head on lavish Christmas extravaganzas. One of the city's upmarket restaurants, Aqua, is advertising what it calls the ultimate Christmas feast - a flamboyant, no-expense spared seven-course dinner at 1,290 US dollars per person.
Meanwhile, the city's five-star Langham and Langham Place Hotels are offering to fly in a top chef from London to cook a sumptuous banquet for five at an eye-watering 88,800 US dollars - that's 17,600 US dollars a head.
Paying such prices is nothing new in the city of 6.9 million which has some of the most expensive property prices in the world and once boasted more Rolls Royces per head of the population than anywhere in the world.
The two venues offering the expensive banquets are confident that even in today's tough times, there will be an elite with enough spare cash to splash out thousands of dollars on their Christmas festivities.
In the past, the super rich in the former British colony have paid records sums for the likes of white truffles and Christmas hampers with a price tag of 129,000 US dollars each.
The feast at Aqua, which is on offer throughout December, includes limousine transfer to the restaurant in Hong Kong's bustling Tsim Sha Tsui area and a gift selected for each guest.
The menu, created by chefs Eugenio Riva and Tatsuya Iwahashi, includes Australian Coffin Bay oysters with Beluga caviar, premium black truffle, Ise Lobster, Boston lobster, foie gras, guinea fowl breast and Kobe beef.
All this is washed down with wines selected by Aq
