Perhaps Alan Yau, the founder of the popular UK-based restaurant chain, assumed his culinary delights would taste so good that diners would refuse to share. (Yau left the company in 1997.)

True to its tagline—"Positive living, positive eating"—the unique Wagamama flavor is inspired from the traditional ramen (noodle) stalls of Japan, where quality ingredients are used to prepare food intended to be both nutritious and tasty.

Although the menu represents ancient cuisine, ordering is very 21st century: your wait for udon noodles or kare lomen is shorter than in the average noodle shop because Wagamama's waitstaff key orders into a PDA-like handheld ("rugged mobile computers" by Symbol are currently replacing consumer PDAs) that immediately transmits your dinner desires to the kitchen.

We logged onto wagamama.com to see if the site reflects its distinctive flavor and appeals to virtual foodies.

Given the limitations of the Internet, it's impossible to translate a true culinary experience online, so at every turn one finds an emphasis on Wagamama's locations—a constant invitation to taste the fare in person. On entering, the homepage highlights the next locality where Wagamama will be landing and offers a quick search option that allows you to search for the "nearest noodle" by entering a postal code.

Just like its neatly classified menu card, the top navigation bar on the homepage clearly highlights various sections of the website, allowing users to comfortably browse each section.

And a solitary picture (depicting a new side dish) makes the homepage seem rather bland; one almost wouldn't think the site was for a restaurant.

The Features, Fun, and Food sections of the website are by far the best. In the Features section, the company solicits customer opinions, publishes a "customer email of the month," and offers a selection of recipes (just a handful; this section is designed to tempt you into buying the Wagamama cookbook).

If you are a cautious diner who likes to know what a restaurant serves before you visit, you can glance at the detailed menus, listed according to country, in the Food section. There is also a glossary so you can tell the difference between a yasai gyoza and an edamame. You'll find which items are vegetarian-friendly, and dietary tables draw attention to dishes that may not be suitable for those with particular allergies.

The Fun section is laden with games, screensavers, and wallpapers. The sparse Kids section has a children's menu and a virtual doodling area. Perhaps there should be more games and puzzles here—or this section can be merged into the Fun section.

The virtual shop (not to be confused with the Boots section) offers cookbooks, t-shirts, and crockery, plus gift vouchers if you're looking to treat a friend to a meal but can't join him in person.

The About and Press sections provide more serious details about the company, including its values and franchising details, along with brief information about corporate partnerships. A mention of Lau (even though he's no longer affiliated with the company) and how Wagamama started would be useful, too.

It might be a while before Wagamama takes delivery orders over the Internet, so you'll have to settle for viewing an online menu prior to visiting the restaurant. Overall, the site is set against a simple backdrop with a clear focus on content and interactive features, but a brand known for food that appeals to the eyes as well as the stomach could use more images of its meals to create a more digestible online experience.