La Rose Noire has given its Kowloon Bay outlet a facelift in preparation for a surge in interest. 'The area has become more sophisticated. More companies are moving out here,' managing director Alois Paier says. 'We thought we would upgrade a little.' The new decor features a warmer, old-European feel and an extended bar area. The menu has been upgraded and theme buffets, including Indian, Austrian and Italian, will be rotated weekly. The group, which has restaurants at the Gateway Centre in Canton Road and Pacific Place, Admiralty, is also rethinking its sandwich policy. 'People don't mind paying $50 for a sandwich, but it has to be different,' Paier says. With this in mind, his partner Gerard Dubois took time out during his trip to Germany for the Culinary Olympics to check out the latest trends on the Continent. Fauchon's foray Fauchon has spread. The French pastry house, which opened in Exchange Square earlier this year, has taken over the space formerly occupied by Haagen Dazs. Besides an extra 25 seats, Fauchon will feature new food lines. In what seems to be an acknowledgment of Italy's contribution to the food scene, they have added seven kinds of panini - hot Italian sandwiches - to the menu, along with an afternoon tea trolley and an ice-cream cart. Aussie festival When a chef is called Teage Ezard, he turns heads a lot quicker than yet another Australian promotion on the Hong Kong food stage. The 29-year-old Ezard, from Melbourne's Guernica Restaurant, will visit for the 9th Annual Taste of Australia from September 30 to October 13. Despite his name, Ezard's training is as Australian as the kangaroo. He was apprenticed to Hermann Schneider at Two Faces in Melbourne in the mid-1980s, and worked in some of the city's finest establishments. His speciality, he says, is 'modern Australian', blending influences from Asia, Europe and the Pacific Rim. The menu for the fortnight at TOTT's restaurant includes pan-fried Aussie sardines with roasted peanuts, and seared Tasmanian salmon with buckwheat noodle salad. Reservations on 2894-8888. Cheese scare The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that Italian marscapone cheese sold under the names Giglio, Parmalat and Sol di Valle may be contaminated with a bacteria - clostridium botulinum - that can cause illness or even death. According to US reports, the Italian Ministry of Health has linked these brands to one death and a few other cases of botulism. Symptoms are dizziness, double-vision, weakness and breathing difficulties. The three brands of the cheese are being recalled. Loaded for lunch Dillingers has entered the building business with a lunch offer which challenges the Pizza Hut crowd to build their 'field of greens'. The special includes a soup and an all-you-can-eat salad bar, plus coffee and tea for $95. Call 2521-2202 for reservations.