The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

Ten Hu, 315 S. Magnolia Ave., Anaheim. (714) 826-9910. Open Sundays and Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays till 10.

Ten Hu doesn’t compare with Chinese restaurants in Chinatown or the San Gabriel Valley, but that shouldn’t put you off a visit. Just remember that the steamed fish might be frozen. Winter melon soup with shredded chicken is a masterwork, and the Sichuan shrimps are particularly fine. It’s primarily a seafood restaurant but you may do just as well with the non-seafood items, such as the Peking spareribs or the mouth watering rice noodle dishes. Stay away from the retro-Chinese standbys like chop suey and egg foo young. They’re awful.

The Pleasant Peasant, 4251 Martingale Way, Newport Beach. (714) 955-2755. Open Mondays through Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Mondays through Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 10.

La Brasserie, 202 S. Main St., Orange. (714) 978-6161. Open Mondays through Fridays 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Mondays through Saturdays 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Country French cuisine has a huge audience, but many of the restaurants advertising it end up serving much fancier dishes instead. (They can charge more that way.) The Pleasant Peasant is reasonably priced, with both soup and salad included in the price of main courses. Stick to lamb and anything without sauce here. La Brasserie is a lot pricier but also considerably more accomplished. The coq au vin rouge is terrific, as is a wonderful homemade chicken liver mousse in aspic. Good desserts and plenty of romance here too.

Salud, 17401 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 842-1194. Open Sundays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till midnight.

Salud, a new, high-concept Mexican restaurant from Larry Cano, has an outlandish design that looks like a set Roger Corman might have used for a movie on Aztec discomania. All the trendy Mexican buttons are pushed: hand-shaken margaritas, ‘80s chilies, blue corn. Avoid the usual Meximush and head for soups, grilled meats and desserts. Pozole verde is hominy and shredded chicken in broth, and it’s great. So is Ibarra chocolate bread pudding--little cubes of fudge-soaked bread in a tequila orange cream sauce. Prices are reasonable.

Mongkut Thai, 212 Avenida del Mar, San Clemente. (714) 492-3871. 31976 S. Coast Highway, South Laguna. (714) 499-2100. Open Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; nightly 5 to 10 p.m.

As well as being one of the current nicknames for Thailand, “Land of Smiles” could describe the type of service you can expect at the often exotic, occasionally bland Mongkut Thai restaurants where smiles substitute for intelligible English. Dishes get such flowery names as Glittering Coastal Onyx (sauced calamari) or Garnet Ocean Field (crab fried rice) on one of the most uniquely written menus anywhere, and they can be blistering hot. Curries like mussuman (beef) or an oily, flavorless chicken curry tend to disappoint, but most of the fare is exuberant and flavorful.

Scott’s Seafood Grill, 3330 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. (714) 979-2400. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Scott’s Seafood Grill made a killer impression on me the first time I ate there, but the year was 1976 and the city was San Francisco. That was then, this is now. Today, in a stunning new Coast Mesa location, the romance wears a bit thin. Good oysters, rich clam chowder and a good wine list make for pleasant beginnings but the fresh mesquite-grilled fish is often devoid of flavor, as one would expect in such a high-volume operation. Save room for the homemade desserts and the good espresso.

Stix, 28251 Crown Valley Parkway at the Center at Ranch Miguel, Laguna Niguel. (714) 831-7849. Open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. weekends.

Stix is a bright, airy, mirror-lined new Chinese restaurant where the cooking offers few surprises but is straightforward and safe: no MSG, high-quality oils like peanut and sesame, you get it. The various kung paos, pan fried dumplings and twice-cooked pork may lack the hotness and brio they have in Chinatown or Monterey Park, but added color and crunch make up for it.

Gustaf Anders, (South Coast Plaza Village), 3610 S. Plaza Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 668-1737. Open daily, 11:30 a.m. to midnight.

Gustaf Anders is a recent arrival from La Jolla, where it received critical raves from customers and critics alike. Here, in a beautiful setting, it fails to live up to its promise. Service is spotty and disorganized. The kitchen shows only occasional flashes of the brilliance for which Anders once was known. Chef Ulf Strandberg has a deft hand with smoked fish, pate, and salads. But his main dishes, such as the insipid deep fried sweetbread or too-sharp rabbit livers, are disappointing.

Mayur, 2931 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (714) 675-6622. Open Mondays through Fridays 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 11:30 p.m.; Saturdays 5:30 to 11:30 p.m.; Sundays noon to 11:30 p.m.

Breads like naan and aijwan paratha are perfect, steaming from the tandoor. Fish tikka comes dripping spice. Lamb vindaloo, a Goan preparation with vinegar, chili and potato, is hot, fragrant and well balanced. Be wary of the oily vegetable dishes and the unctuous service.

Spaghettini, 3005 Old Ranch Parkway, Seal Beach. (213) 596-2199. Open Mondays through Z