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 Aqua's expert team, including Bollinger Grand Année 1999 champagne and a Château d'Yquem 1996 from Bordeaux.

Angela Lee, Aqua's director of sales and marketing, said the concept had been designed for a "very small number of affluent people who wanted to really splash out and enjoy a truly memorable Christmas experience."

"It is designed to be extravagant and includes a number of components - fabulous food and wines, second to none service including door to door transportation," she said.

"We did of course have a discussion as to whether it was still appropriate to offer this menu given current economic conditions, but we still felt there would be some people out there who would like to forget the doom and gloom and give themselves and their friends or family a once in a lifetime experience.

"We also felt that anything that encourages people to spend in the current climate can only benefit the economy.

"Of course we're not expecting huge numbers of people to take this up - it will run in addition to our regular Aqua menu which, whilst at the higher end of the market, is much more affordable."

Bob van den Oord, vice president of sales and marketing at the Langham Hotels said its Christmas feast, prepared by top London-based chef Andrew Turner, was aimed at people for whom money was no object.

"Luxury lifestyle packages such as this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Andrew Turner are all about tailor-making experiences which can provide an enchanting sense of wonder and magic," said van den Oord.

"While the vast majority of us are watching our wallets, we expect there is someone out there who may purchase the experience, even in times of economic uncertainty."

The Langham's menu for five, has been specially created by Turner, the chef of The Landau in London, who is credited with introducing the concept of grazing menus to the dining scene.

It includes crispy tora fungu with liquid Beluga Almas bon bons and saffron ponzu, slow-cooked Kobe beef fillet studded with white truffle, foie gras, pickled matsutake and Baron du Lustrac 1800 essence.

Without the wine, the bill totals 18,800 US dollars a head, but if you go with the chef's recommendations - which include a 38,300 US dollar bottle of Le Montrachet 1978 DRC - you will add 70,000 dollars to the final bill bringing it to 88,800 US dollars.

The bill, however, still falls way short of the feast offered by Bangkok's luxury Lebua hotel last year - a 10-course meal paired with a rare vintage wine and cooked by six three-star Michelin chefs flown in from Europe for around 28,000 US dollars a head.

In 2005, a Christmas Hamper went on sale at the Hong Kong Ritz-Carlton with a price tag of 129,000 US dollars which included champagne, jewelry, caviar and cigars plus at luxurious mini-break with private jet flights and a stay in the presidential suite of the chain's Bali hotel.

In the last three years, Hong Kong tycoons have paid record sums to secure and cook the world's biggest and most expensive white truffles in the annual Alba Truffle charity auction.

Last year's winning bid came from a consortium of Chinese property developers who paid 208,000 US dollars for 750 gram truffle which works out at 2,173 dollars per gram, making it the most expensive food in the world.

This year, Hong Kong may miss out as the auction has been moved to the Tokyo Ritz-Carlton following the closure of the Hong Kong Ritz-Carlton hotel, which co-hosted the auction, at the beginning of this year. (dpa)