The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

Emperor’s Fortune, 3820 Plaza Dr ive , Santa Ana. (714) 850-9008. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays till 11.

Emperor’s Fortune is the latest incarnation in haute Chinese, a Hong Kong-elegant dining room designed with obvious expense. Everything is well-crafted, even if the taste spectrum tends to be on the bland side, and there is considerable imagination in the presentations. Peking duck, with an amazingly crispy skin, is the big hitter, and you’ll want to try such dishes as Shrimp Go Nuts, mussels in garlic sauce and any of the wonderful desserts (from Grand Finale). Expect to have your wallet lightened considerably.

Showley-Wrightson, 2531 Eastbluff Dr ive , Newport Beach. (714) 760-9700. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays from 6 to 9:30.

Showley-Wrightson is an unlikely little gem of a restaurant, hidden away in a tony Newport Beach shopping center (the owners have tried to infuse the place with atmosphere but it still looks like an upscale grocery store with tables). Wonderful breads like fougasse and a dense walnut loaf begin the proceedings, and there is a wide array of entrees and desserts to choose from, all made on the premises. Don’t miss risottos, grilled smoked beef, or the flourless chocolate cake. They pack picnic baskets too.

Cafe Zinc, 350 Ocean Av e ., Laguna Beach. (714) 494-6302. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays 7 to 4.

Belisle’s, 12001 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove. (714) 750-6560. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The dilemma of where to take an out-of-town guest can be solved at Cafe Zinc, a Berkeley-style cafe in Laguna, or Belisle’s, a truck stop-style restaurant in Garden Grove. I’ll let you figure out the rest of the equation. Cafe Zinc has remarkable, densely foamed cappuccino, fresh, imaginative muffins like millet or cranberry and an outdoor patio. Belisle’s trades on giant platters, eye-popping pastries and true grit Americana like grits, mush and corn bread. Good morning, y’all.

Dynasty, 9200 Bolsa Av e ., 215, Westminster. (714) 898-3189. Open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., weekends from 9 a.m.

A vast Hong Kong style restaurant in a Little Saigon shopping mall, Dynasty is beginning to strut its stuff. The dining room is now in the hands of the capable Tony Lai, a Chinese foodie with Beverly Hills in his resume, and both food and service have taken a sharp upturn. Black pepper beef brisket from the page one specials menu is extraordinary, and don’t miss the first-rate kung pao dishes, sand dabs with spicy salt, or soy sauce squab. On a menu with 150 entrees, there is much to choose from.

La Palma Chicken Pie Shop and Restaurant, 928 N. Euclid Ave., Anaheim. (714) 533-2021. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bakery opens at 9.

This is where you want to go for meat loaf, pan fried chicken and the other kinds of tried and true, roadside American fare that are creeping back onto the menus in more upscale establishments. The signature dish, chicken pie, is a buttery, 9 oz. disc crammed with shredded meat. At $1.95 it makes a great, affordable snack. Don’t bypass the attached bakery, where the goodies include peach pie, burnt almond cake and a rich house cheesecake, and an excellent, springy chocolate cake is only three dollars.

Greek Cuisine, 13011 Newport Ave., Tustin . (714) 731-1179. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays through Thursdays from 5 to 10, Fridays and Saturdays till 11. Flamingo, 17185 Brookhurst, Fountain Valley. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 11.

Ethnic eateries in mini-malls, Greek Cuisine in Tustin boasts exquisite taramo, creamed carp roe, fall-off-the-bone oregano chicken and a fine array of Greek specialties, while Flamingo in Fountain Valley is more terra incognita: seco norteno (piquant lamb stew in onion gravy), papas a la Huancaina (potatoes in a cheese sauce blanket), picarone (hot pumpkin fritters in blackstrap molasses). Both restaurants are casual and inexpensive.

Viva Italia, 303 Broadway, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-6220. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30.

The VIVA in Viva Italia is an acronym for the first initials of brothers Vittorio, Ignacio, Vincenzo and Antonio Romeo, and the restaurant seems to have caught on as neatly. It’s a somewhat cramped version of an Italian trattoria : terra cotta floor, tile kitchen, elbow-to-elbow seating. Food is simple and straightforward but erratic. Pastas and wood fired pizzas are the best bets. Beach crowd salads and ill-conceived main courses can be passed over. Service is snappy and efficient.

Bayou St. John, 320 Main St., Seal Beach. (213) 431-2298. Open daily from 5 to 10 p.m.

Bayou St. John in quiet Seal Beach is currently Orange County’s only bona fide Cajun restaurant: The boom has faded, but not the delights of this cuisine. Indulge yourself with such specialties as homemade gumbo, full of hidden flavors; oysters Rousseau, a rich appetizer with cheese, bacon, cream sauce and spicy tomato; and stuffed trout, pan fried in pure butter. Blackened items are a must. Seafoods are flown in from the Gulf. Dixieland music on tape furnishes the nostalgia.

Hyang Chon, 12921 Fern St., Stanton. (714) 891-5166. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Eel, grilled short ribs and barbecued herring are just a few items on this Korean restaurant’s exotic and varied menu. Pan cha, colorful side dishes, are especially good here, with such specialties as gae jang, raw marinated crab, and jap chae, glass noodle with meat and vegetable. Lunchtime prices are a steal.

Revere House, 900 W. 1st St., Tustin. (714) 543-9314. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Revere House is one of those dark, woody dinner houses that were popular during the ‘50s, and guess what: That’s when the place opened. It specializes in credible versions of plain old American food-prime rib, pan fried chicken, turkey with all the trimmings-all churned out with dependable regularity. The menu is enormous and portions are Protean. All entrees come with a choice of Caesar or spinach salad. Desserts are the one weak spot, except for the tapioca pudding you get for free.

The Hobbit, 2932 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 997-1972. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m.

The Hobbit is a special occasion restaurant, serving prix fixe dinners that are elaborate without being pretentious. Book well in advance. You begin the evening in the restaurant’s wine cellar, nibbling on Julia Child-like appetizers, sipping champagne and chatting with total strangers. Chef Mike Phillippi takes it all very seriously, preparing solid food that is well-balanced, though rarely brilliant. Entrees like beef Wellington and lobster Thermidor rotate weekly. Service is performed by smiling waitresses in print uniforms.

Gandhi, 3820-D Plaza Drive, South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 556-7273. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 6 to 10.

Gandhi could be called new wave Indian: it roasts quail in its clay oven and pours Beaujolais nouveau as often as beer. Phlegmatic waiters in fancy tuxedoes perform service on the brass enclosed patio, a former pizzeria that looks more like Paris than Delhi. Appetizers like chicken tikka salad and the various tandoori dishes are refined and pleasant. Spicy dishes like lamb in spinach puree and curried eggplant are even better. Expensive.

Grappa, 2304 W. Ocean Front, Newport Beach. (714) 675-1930. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 6 to 10 p.m., Fridays through Sundays till 11.

Grappa, housed in what used to be Zeppa, is yet another beachfront Italian restaurant in Newport. New owner Vincenzo Gentile hasn’t changed the basic concept: The restaurant still resembles a Florentine villa, with a kitchen that churns out such favorites as great fried calamari, salads with lots of balsamic vinegar, and upscale pastas such as agnolotti and penne. Nodino alla griglia, an excellent veal chop grilled with aromatic herbs, is a standout. Desserts are intelligently underindulgent.

Places Afar, 25932 Muirlands Blvd . , Mission Viejo. (714) 581-4200. Open daily except Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10.

Calesa, 2106 Tustin Ave., Santa Ana. (714) 541-6585. Open daily except Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10.

Places Afar is your basic Cuban-French-Vietnamese restaurant; the English is circumspect, the cooking is spectacular. Start with Cuban ham croquettes alongside greaseless plantain chips, or a bowlful of smoky black bean soup. Then try Imperial salad from Vietnam. Evenings, there are such French classics as couscous and choucroute . Calesa has a sign boasting “Round-the-World-Dining”--it’s a luxurious restaurant with Filipino, Asian and Continental specialties. There is a wide selection of main dishes from paella to sate , and cooking is often on the sweet side. Service is formal, and waiters in tuxedos flame desserts with enthusiasm that borders on lust.

Faraday’s Grill and Spirits, 13102 Newport Ave., Tustin (714) 730-3442. Open Sundays through Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 11 p.m.

Faraday’s is a family restaurant with cheerful service, juicy burgers and some mighty devoted fans. Why else would anyone wait half an hour for institutional food on a Tuesday evening? Everybody goes ape over onion strings, mountains of flour dredged onions deep fried until crispy, and the sappy sweet barbecue that kids favor so shamelessly. Breakfast is actually quite credible here, with fluffy pancakes, homemade muffins, and squeezed-to-order OJ. Portions are predictably generous and prices are modest.

Baci, 18748 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 965-1194. Open Wednesdays through Sundays from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Baci is just a storefront restaurant with modest decor, but young New Yorker Angelo Parisi gives his food a rough sophistication; nearly all his dishes are touched with originality. All of Italy finds its way onto Parisi’s small menu. Complimentary appetizers might be a superbly light chicken minestrone or some cold garlic-infused broccoli. Dishes such as fettuccine agnello, flat noodles with stewed lamb, and linguine tuttomare, with scungilli and shrimp, sustain the enthusiasm. The best dessert is panna cotta, the poor man’s creme brulee.

Hastings, in the Anaheim Hilton and Towers, 777 Convention Way, Anaheim. (714) 750-4321. Open Fridays through Tuesday s from 6 to 11 p.m. Call for lunch times.

Hastings has good food for a hotel restaurant but other aspects of dining there can be annoying; service is particularly spotty and indifferent. The room is predictably clubby with the predictable hotel creature comforts. The menu features a sumptuous lobster ravioli appetizer, a fine seafood Caesar salad, and some highly credible entrees, among them filet mignon that melts in the mouth and a great veal. Seafoods are done handsomely. The wine list is extensive and intelligent.

Hassan’s Cafe, 3325 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. (714) 675-4668. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5:30 to 11, Sundays from 5:30 to 11 only.

Hassan’s Cafe specializes in the cuisine of Lebanon--a hybrid of Turkish, French, and local influences--and the restaurant is relaxing and exotic. Mazza, one of the world’s great noshes, is the absolute must here, a splendid array of Middle Eastern appetizers such as mutebel, a smoky eggplant dip, and warrab ennaq, vine leaves stuffed with aromatic rice. There are interesting main dishes such as kibbe nayya, raw ground lamb mixed with bulgur wheat, sort of an Arabic version of steak tartare. Kebabs are first-rate.

Nui Ngu, 10528 McFadden Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 775-1108. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 8 p.m.

Pagolac, 14564 Brookhurst St., Westminster. (714) 531-4740. Open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 10 p.m.

Little Saigon is always an arresting place to browse when in the mood for adventurous inexpensive dining. Nui Ngu, in a misbegotten strip mall on McFadden Avenue, specializes in the wonderfully obscure cuisine of Hue, in Central Vietnam. Bun bo Hue, a peppery beef noodle soup, and banh bot loc, sticky tapioca flour dumplings, are unforgettable. At Pagolac you can experience a phenomenon known as bo bay mon , literally “seven courses of beef.” The Vietnamese are mad for it. Unload a truck before you go.

Bagatta, 3012 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. (714) 675-4020. Open Mondays through Thursdays from 6 to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till midnight. Sundays from 5 to 10 p.m.

The early returns show Bagatta to have a healthy lead in the Newport Beach Italian restaurant sweepstakes. It’s a terrific addition to the local dining scene. Chef Andrea Rogantini brings heavyweight experience to the kitchen. Owner Tony Bagatta makes a charming host. Such dishes as salmon carpaccio, latticed with a moss green pesto sauce, and dry cured bresaola make spectacular beginnings. Pastas are beautifully textured. Desserts such as zucotto and homemade spumoni are other-worldly.

Sapori, 1080 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 644-4220. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., till 11 p.m. weekends.

Sapori is a modish, elegant neighborhood trattoria where the cooking is serious. Chefs Adriano and Franco Maniacci hail from Palermo, Sicily, but play no favorites with regard to the many regions of Italan cuisine. Bruschetta di pane Saracena , triangles of roasted wheat bread with a garlic puree, are delightful, and many pastas come blanketed in savory sauces. Suprema di rombo, turbot in a leek and watercress sauce, pays homage to nouvelle. Veal Milanese is the best you’ll find anywhere.

Kitayama, 101 Bayview Place, Newport Beach . (714) 725-0777. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily from 6 p.m. to 10:30.

Kitayama, the first really serious Japanese restaurant in Orange County, is an exquisite addition to the local dining scene. You’ll think you’ve wandered into a Buddhist temple--until you taste the delicate, sophisticated cooking of Yoshio Shirai and his team of chefs. The sho-ka-do lunch is the most beautiful $14 meal anywhere, and the omakase kaiseki, a multicourse feast at $50 per person, is unforgettable.