Stanley Ho pays HK$2.57m for 'Truffle of the Century'
The largest white truffle found in half a century was snapped up at auction last night by casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun, who paid a record US$330,000 for the 1.5kg delicacy.
The auction of the truffle, which drew 20 bids and began with a starting bid for the prized fungus of US$50,000, was held on Mr Ho's home turf at his Grand Lisboa hotel and casino in Macau.
Mr Ho, suffering from a cold, did not attend the auction and made his bids over the phone to his fourth wife, Angela Leung On-kei.
The sale, which attracted tycoons, businessmen, movie stars and celebrities, was part of the International Tuscan Truffle Auction held simultaneously across three cities - London, Florence and Macau - to raise money for charities in each region: Caritas Macau, Britain's Consortium for Street Children and Telethon in Italy.
Six of the 16 truffles sold at the international auction went under the hammer for a total of US$429,000.
The truffle was second only in size to a 2.5kg fungus found in 1954 and presented to US president Dwight Eisenhower.
It was blessed by Pope Benedict before leaving Italy and was named the 'Truffle of the Century'.
The casino was linked by satellite with Florence and the Refettorio restaurant in London, run by Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli.
Nevertheless, property tycoon Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung may be able to argue that Hong Kong still holds the record for the biggest truffle.
Sir Gordon paid a world record HK$1.25 million last year for an Alba white truffle believed to weigh between 1.5kg and 1.59kg, although he later admitted he was no fan of the pungent delicacy.
Instead, support of his favourite charity, Mother's Choice, was his motivation.
Sir Gordon then issued instructions to chef Umberto Bombana of the Toscana at the Ritz-Carlton hotel to prepare a grand dinner for 40-plus friends.
Truffle madness began to take off locally in 2005 when a group of wealthy Hongkongers paid what was then a world record HK$863,000 for a 1.2kg white truffle, which was also prepared by Bombana for a private dinner.
And on November 11 this year, a group of mainland property developers joined forces to pay HK$1.63 million for a comparatively small 750-gram truffle.
The developers - Su Meng, president of Gold Tak Land and owner of Guangzhou's Ritz-Carlton, Li Sze-lim, chairman of R&F (Beijing) Properties Development, and Kong Jianmin, chairman of KWG Property Holding - also held a dinner at the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong to enjoy their purchase.
