What does the world’s most expensive sushi taste like? Smooth, succulent and a little on the light side according to Yumiko Ono.

The Tokyo restaurant world was shocked last week when a 128 kilogram Japanese bluefin tuna fetched 9.63 million yen ($104,800) – the highest price paid for a bluefin tuna in eight years.

Two restaurants with distinctly different styles bid jointly at Tokyo’s first fish auction of the year, splitting both the cost and the fish.

Two customized Mercedes-Benz SL600, Luxury Crystal Benz, studded with 300,000 Swarovski crystal glass, are displayed at the pavilion of custom car accessory company Garson/D.A.D at Tokyo Auto Salon 2009 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, January 9, 2009.

The annual auto show, which showcases custom cars and accessories for cars, will be held until Sunday.

Last week, at the Seibu Department Store in Tokyo, Tomy Toys, a toy company from Japan unveiled a diamond doll.

The specially produced doll with the name “Licca–chan” (The Licca-chan doll is a widely popular Japanese version of the Barbie doll) comes clad in a tiara and gown studded with 881 diamonds, a total of 51.4 karat.

This diamond doll was part of an exhibition called “Girlish Culture” geared toward what they describe as, “happy adult by fashion”.

Recently, I discovered an incredible pastry-shop in Paris, Pierre Hermé, where you can try some interesting flavored macarons, such as caramel with fleur de sel , passion fruit with chocolate or even rose petal cream.

(Macarons are French, meringue-like cookies made with almond flour – sometimes called luxembourgers – while Macaroons are cookies made with coconut)

Pierre Herm̩ is an artist Рan artist of pastry making - and he is known for his innovative recipes. He began his apprenticeship at Gaston Len̫tre at the age of 14, where he discovered his passion for pastry making.

This luxury doghouse was created in 2007 for a sales event at a department store in Tokyo and designed in collaboration with a maker of high-end pet goods. It’s worth3.9 million yen (32,000 dollars).

The most expensive doghouse in the world, large enough for a Chihuahua or terrier, is decorated with 7,600 crystal beads and has a pillow in the shape of Hello Kitty’s face.

“There’s been a boom in luxury couches for larger dogs, so we thought there might be room for something new,” said a Sanrio (the company behind Hello Kitty) spokesman.

Mercer has just released its top 50 most expensive cities in the world based on cost of living.

Mercer’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2008 is used to help multinational companies and governments determine living costs for their expatriate employees, who usually demand a relatively high quality of life.

Mercer’s survey covers 253 cities across six continents and measured the relative cost of over 200 items in each place, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.