Do you recall the scene in Pulp Fiction when John Travolta’s character asks Uma Thurman’s character whether she had just ordered a $5 milk shake, suggesting she had expensive taste?

He tastes the drink and declares it to be pretty ‘bleeping’ good, although he is still not sure whether it’s worth five bucks.

Granted, 20-plus years have passed, so a $5 milk shake would seem cheap compared to what you pay these days, but we’re setting up the story so bear with us.

The story is that this week, a Japanese restaurant in London unveiled a sandwich costing £150. Yes, you heard me correctly that’s one hundred and fifty pounds.

Ok, the sandwich is the brainchild of Michelin-starred chef Yoshihiro Murata, so you would expect to pay a little more, but is £150 going a little too far, even if the restaurant is in Mayfair.

Well, let’s see what is in the sandwich first. It is filled with 20g of Japanese wagyu beef fillet, which is coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

Two slices of brioche bread are then lathered in melted Saint-Nectaire cheese and a Japanese demi-glace sauce, and the meat sandwiched between. Shavings of white truffle provide the finishing touch.

Only four of the £150 sandwiches will be made daily, available until the end of December, so you better be quick if you want one!

This, of course, got us thinking about other ‘cheap’ foods where expensive versions have been made.

In the Paris hotel in Las Vegas they sell the 777 Burger. Made with Kobe beef and Maine lobster, served with imported brie cheese, caramelised onions, crispy pancetta, and a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne on the side, the price, naturally, is $777.

Mind if you have eaten in a Five Guys recently, this may not seem steep at all. We are of course joking Five Guys; we love your burgers!

What about the world’s most expensive hotdog? Made by a Seattle-based Tokyo Dog food truck, the Juuni Ban contains smoked cheese bratwurst, butter Teriyaki grilled onions, Maitake mushrooms, Wagyu beef, foie gras, shaved black truffles, caviar and Japanese mayonnaise.

These ingredients are nestled in a soft Brioche bun. It sold for $169, with all the proceeds going to the Red Cross. Pity they only ever sold six of them!

If you have expensive tastes and like pizza, then the Louis XIII is for you. Costing $12,000, aside from the dough which takes 72 hours to rise, it is topped with three types of rare caviar, lobster shipped from Norway and seven types of cheese. If you like that sound of it, then Salerno, Italy, is the place for you.

Did you just order a $12,000 pizza?

About Neil Shaefer
Marketing & Communications Executive of SK Foods.
Your food. Our Passion.