THE drought may have raised basic food prices, but Sydneysiders are still having their pie and eating it.

Top-end restaurants, bars and food shops are reporting an insatiable demand for their most expensive goods, reported The Sun-Herald.

The most exclusive coffee in Sydney is kopi luwak, available at A$50 ($67) a cup. It is made from Indonesian coffee beans that have been eaten and excreted whole by a possum-like marsupial called a luwak.

The 10cm slabs are then dried, broken up, cleaned and roasted for a brew which is reportedly exceptionally smooth.

Even Mr Rob Forsythm, who sells the coffee admitted that the crowds are going for the expensive cuppa more for the hype than for the taste.

But the priciest drink has to be the limited-edition bottle of Hennessy X.O Mathusalem cognac, which comes in an embossed lambskin case with wheels and a telescopic handle. It is valued at A$100,000.

Humble pie doesn't come cheap either. The Boathouse restaurant's snapper pie, complete with truffle oil, comes in at A$45 a portion ? A$85 if you want freshly-shaved truffles toppings.

Despite the price, it is one of the most popular dishes on the menu.

If steak is more your scene, you might want to check out the A$190, dry-aged wagyu available at the Becasse restaurant.

Heck, even vinegar is costly.

A 250ml of balsamic vinegar will set you back A$280 at the P & R Raineri's Delicatessen in Five Dock.

Why? Because it is 75 years old and the only one in Australia.

With such decadent indulgences, no wonder the Australian Bureau of Statistics' figures showed that Sydney consumers parted with a record A$19.7 billion in August alone.

CommSec economist Martin Arnold told the paper: "We are seeing unprecedented levels of wealth, the stock market has hit record highs and, at the top end of the salary range, wages are still very solid.

"Despite the interest rate rises, most people feel better off now than they did five years ago and, at the high end, people really like to spend."