White truffle weighing over 1kg sold to Hong Kong bidder for US$141,000 at international auction
- Once again a Hong Kong bidder has brought home the top truffle lot at the annual Worldwide Alba White Truffle Auction – and it’s not chef Umberto Bombana
- Bidders around the world vied for the 1.04kg white truffle, which came with a truffle-based holiday for four, Italian wines and a 5kg panettone
Once again a wealthy Hong Kong resident has outbid buyers from around the world to bring home a prized Alba white truffle, the star item in a lot that went for HK$1.1 million (US$140,845).
The lot, featuring a 1.04kg (2.3lb) specimen, calls to mind the last time a truffle of similar size was up for auction, in 2019, when a 1kg specimen sold for HK$1.03 million.
The 24th edition of the annual Alba White Truffle Auction was once again held at the Castle of Grinzane Cavore in Piedmont, Italy, with satellite auctions held in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Alba in Italy, Frankfurt and Vienna.
In Hong Kong, the auction was held in tandem with a charity gala dinner hosted by chef Romeo Morelli of Piedmontese restaurant Castellana, at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong where, before the bidding, guests enjoyed a six-course meal featuring copious shavings of white truffle.
For the first time in more than two decades, the auction dinner was not led by chef Umberto Bombana, widely known as the king of truffles, who has hosted the annual event at his restaurant 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana since 2011.