Australia isn't the only country seeing everyday items like iceberg lettuce go from basic to bougie.
Across the globe, people are feeling the pinch as surging inflation becomes a "global phenomenon".
In some countries, people are already witnessing grocery prices doubling and experts say we're yet to see inflation peak.
This is how life is being impacted in some of the most expensive cities in the world.
Living in a Hong Kong hotel
In Hong Kong, Yifan Jin chooses to live in a long-stay hotel close to where she works as a tax consultant rather than rent an apartment.
The 26-year-old pays around $HK12,000 ($2,177) per month — an amount she says would not guarantee her a "good and decent" flat.
"For $HK12,000, you can only rent rooms in old buildings, with broken toilets, thin glass windows, all kinds of problems," Ms Jin told the ABC.
Ms Jin describes herself as a "Hong Kong drifter", referring to a group born in mainland China but living in Hong Kong.
She said most "Hong Kong drifters" spend more than one-third of their salaries on rent, which makes life difficult as cost of living rises in the notoriously expensive city.
After paying for rent, food and other daily necessities "there's nothing left", she said.
Hong Kong was ranked at the top of ECA International's 2022 list of most expensive cities to live in.
The global mobility company's annual report compares commonly purchased consumer goods, household staples, rents, public transport, and factors in the strength of local currency.
The report considered 207 cities in 120 countries and territories, focusing on expats and foreign workers.
Although Hong Kong has been less impacted by rising global inflation than other locations, price increases were higher than what is typically witnessed in the city, the report said.
It found that a cup of coffee was around $7 and 1 kilogram of tomatoes had gone up to $16.39.
Anna Michielsen, ECA's Australia, New Zealand and Pacific general manager, was shocked at the rate at which prices were increasing for everyday goods.
"We're surprised at how quickly and across how many locations inflation has escalated," Ms Michielsen said.
No Australian capital cities were among the 10 most expensive, but were all ranked in the top 100, except for Hobart which wasn't included in the report.
Sydney was ranked as the most expensive Australian city, coming in at 39.
Lingering lockdowns sting in Shanghai
Five of the top cities ranked in the ECA report were in Asia, including Shanghai, which came in at number eight.
Jerry Jiang started experiencing skyrocketing food prices about two months ago when China imposed strict COVID lockdowns on the country's second-largest city.
"In April, Shanghai faced a supply shortage at the beginning of the lockdown for a while, so prices surged very fast," he said.
"Everything is getting more expensive, like dining out, getting a haircut, rents, petrol, et cetera."
Tomatoes cost almost double what they did a year ago.
Mr Jiang is still under lockdown, meaning he is forced to shop online, which is more expensive than at the markets.
Pandemic and war create the 'perfect storm'
Katrina Ell, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics, said the pandemic was the initial trigger for the increases, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine created a scenario that "no one expected".
"Just as the pandemic was kind of easing off, Russia's invasion of Ukraine threw another spanner in the works and really pushed inflation beyond expectations," Ms Ell told the ABC.
"What we're seeing is that it's almost been a perfect storm of factors that have really driven this surge in acceleration that has been a global phenomenon."
The war has pushed up the price of food and energy because both Russia and Ukraine are important suppliers of those commodities.
"Ukraine is an important supplier of fertiliser, wheat, and other really critical non-specific food items. So that's an additional kind of push," Ms Ell said.
Cities across Asia have been particularly impacted due to their reliance on food and energy imports.
"Within Asia, there are some interesting dynamics at play," Ms Ell said.
"Places like Singapore import all their food needs… they're really exposed to that spike in global prices."
Some countries are also restricting their exports to try and keep their own food prices down to the detriment of others, which is further adding to the stress within Asia, she added.
Veggies in Seoul 'insanely expensive'
Alexander Ponting, an English teacher who moved to Seoul last year, is thankful that things like public transport and coffee are so cheap.
But he continues to be shocked by food prices in Seoul, which was ranked as the 10th most expensive city to live in.
"Fruit and vegetables are insanely expensive," Mr Ponting said.
"In the UK, a bag of spinach will be like 70 pence ($1.22) or something but here it will cost you three pounds ($5.26)."
Apples are around one pound for a bag in the UK and in Seoul he can pay up to six or seven pounds.
In Tel Aviv 'everyone is worried'
In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, fruit and vegetable prices are nearly doubling.
"The food in Israel is based on vegetables so it's pretty dramatic," Tel Aviv resident Ronnie Brodetzky told the ABC.
Lettuce used to be four shekels ($1.6) and now it's seven shekels, she said.
"Tomatoes became between 10 to 12 shekels when normally they were four to six. Everything is much more expensive."
Tel Aviv was ranked as number six on ECA's list, while a recent study by the Economist Intelligence Unit named Tel Aviv as the world's most expensive city.
Ms Brodetzky said the increasing cost of living is becoming a daily topic of conversation.
"I'm feeling a lot of tension, everyone in Israel is," she said.
"No-one knows what is going to happen with so much chaos in the world."
Rents have increased 10-14 per cent since COVID, and even activities like going to the swimming pool costs up to 80 shekels when it used to be between 20 and 40.
"When I was a kid, everything was cheap and normal. You wouldn't need to be rich to be able to enjoy your life," the 38-year-old said.
New Yorkers become desensitised
The US has been dominating headlines as it tries to control an inflation rate that has reached a 40-year high.
Last week, the Federal Reserve rolled out its biggest rate hike since 1994 and there are fears the world's largest economy will slip into a recession.
But in New York, which was ranked number two on the ECA list, many locals have become desensitised to high costs of living.
Beata Kanter said prices have been increasing by "a dollar here and there".
"It's more these little incremental increases that probably go unnoticed in day-to-day life," she told the ABC.
Mark Dessaix, a New York-based actor from Sydney, hadn't noticed any "major leaps and bounds" until recently.
The 40-year-old went to buy apples and the cost had doubled.
"In this grocery shop it was $US9 for four apples when it's usually $US4," he said.
While everyday price increases are not something he is too concerned about, surging rents may impact Mr Dessiax's plans to move into his own apartment next year.
"I pay per month to live with three other people what I was paying to live by myself in Potts Point [in Sydney]," he said.
"The average to live alone in a studio or one bedroom apartment here is around $US1,600 to $US1,700 a month (around $2,300-$2,440)."
When will inflation cool?
A number of factors will determine how long it will take for inflation to ease, but the conflict in Ukraine plays a major role.
"Because Russia's invasion has driven that change in energy and food costs quite substantially, if that situation deteriorates then inflation will get worse across the globe," Ms Ell said.
"Our expectation at the moment would be that inflation will peak around the second or third quarter of this year, and then will gradually come down."
She predicts inflation to be above a rate that central banks are comfortable with through 2023.
