The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

Panda Inn, 2 Center Point Drive, La Palma. (714) 522-6082. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Panda Inn, an upscale Chinese restaurant chain, recently arrived in La Palma. It can credit its success to its attractive, mildly Americanized interpretations of traditional Mandarin cuisine. Purists beware. Shy away from the complicated fare (lemon this, orange that) and stick to basics: the well-crafted soups, the excellent lamb and pork dishes, and the first-rate sauteed vegetables. Don’t go home without a serving of mango pudding for dessert. It is a real palate cleanser, with a refreshing taste.

Ciao, 1730 E. 17th St., Santa Ana. (714) 972-3101. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Saturdays from 4:30 to 9:30.

Ciao is one of those indistinct little neighborhood restaurants you can drive by 100 times without noticing, but it happens to be an exceptional one. Bina Crivello, a Sicilian mater familias who runs the restaurant with the help of her five sons, makes most of the food herself: crusty pizzas, earthy pastas, and a good rich tomato sauce to go with them. Bring a hefty appetite, and leave room for the excellent tiramisu--intense, mocha rich, and drooling mascarpone cheese.

Morell’s, in the Irvine Hilton, 17900 Jamboree Road, Irvine. (714) 863-3111. Open daily except except Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 6 to 10.

Morell’s is one hotel restaurant making an obvious effort to keep up with the times, but one still comes away with the impression that instituitional practices die hard. It’s a quietly elegant room done up in various shades of pink, and there is a formal quality to the service. Appetizers such as sweetbreads and smoked salmon are among the strong suits. Desserts are visual stunners. The basically sound main dishes suffer occasionally from a desire to impress.

Singapore Corner, 1401 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (714) 494-0787. Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Albert Tan and Ruby Barkineyn, Singaporean and Indonesian respectively, serve up credible versions of their native dishes at this hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint. Satay, the region’s most famous dish, is grilled skewers of various meats eaten with spicy peanut sauce. Nasi rames is a quintet of pleasantly unfamiliar dishes surrounding a mound of white rice. Ask Tan about specials, which range from yellow rice noodles to various things eaten from banana leaves. Laughably inexpensive.

Emperor’s Fortune, 3820 Plaza Drive, 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 will 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 Drive, 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 Ave., 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, seven 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.