Food chain on-line to raise service profile

The La Rose Noire group is about to lift the lid on a new project which it hopes will give its four restaurants and shops an edge in the dining market.

In August, the group begins promoting its on-line reservation and order facility. The idea is to attract customers to book tables, take-aways and a variety of cakes through the La Rose Noire World Wide Web page (http://www.la-rose-noire.com). All on-line orders are faxed to the relevant restaurant or bakery to be filled. All the test runs have been done and glitches ironed out, says managing director Alois Paier. The service has taken six or seven months to pull together, Paier says. The original Web page was launched at the end of last year and has had 5,000 visitors.

Dressing for summer Marks & Spencer has seen the 'lite' in its range of summer salad dressings. In a welcome departure from the sweets and biscuits that are the M & S food hall staple, there is now a choice of dressings ranging from the lite French with extra virgin olive oil and herbs ($21) to fromage frais with garlic and herbs ($21) and the fat-free orange and honey dressing ($27), made with orange juice, honey and white wine vinegar. Even when it sticks to the stodge, there is a trendy twist to the store's conservative image. The full-fat dressing is extra virgin olive oil laced with roasted red peppers ($30). Also on the shelves is a selection of marinades for the barbecues Hong Kong is going to have as soon as the rain lets up. The range includes garlic and rosemary, and lime and coriander.

Yoghurt substitute Another fat-free trick for summer is the new range of Hearty Life 'Instead of Yoghurt' dessert mixes. Made in the United States, the desserts are lactose- and dairy-free as well as low sodium, which makes them ideal for a wide variety of diets. They come in powder form and are mixed with water to make the shake. The four flavours are peach, cherry, pina colada and raspberry. Each packet ($16.90) serves two. Available from Health Gate in Central.

Club's new look It has a fresh coat of paint, a better ceiling and a kitchen upgrade. But Wellington Street curry stalwart, Greenlands, is greeting the new era in Hong Kong with the same reliably good menu that has kept the hole-in-the-wall masses well fed for the past nine years. Greenlands Curry Club serves a mix of south and north Indian dishes. The dinner buffet is $100 and lunch is $68. Reservations on 2522-6098.

Fair deal on sushi Deal of the week is the new Sunday sushi fair at Hotel Nikko's Sagano Japanese restaurant. For $100, diners get a choice of five pieces of sushi, ranging from tuna, sea bream and yellow tail to surf clam, eel, arch shell and crab roe. The special offer is available for lunch and dinner every Sunday. The restaurant has also laid on an eel menu at lunch time this month. The set lunch ($180) includes cold noodles with shrimp, egg and mushroom; and grilled Japanese eel rice. Reservations on 2313-4215.