EXPRESS LANE : ON THE TABLE IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS.

Treat yourself to a refreshing fantasy to escape the summer doldrums, or end an alfresco dinner with this special sorbet.

BANANAS FOSTER AND SORBET

2 tablespoons lemon juice

4 bananas, EACH cut into thirds and then cut in half lengthwise 

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter OR margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup creme de banana

1/4 cup dark rum

1 1/2 pints (3 cups) vanilla sorbet

18 pecan halves, lightly toasted

In a shallow bowl, place lemon juice. Dip each banana piece in lemon juice; set aside.

In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar; stir constantly 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture is bubbly. Stir in bananas; cook 2 minutes. Add cinnamon and creme de banana; stir gently. Add rum; mix well. Remove from heat; ignite.

To serve, divide warm bananas evenly between 6 individual serving dishes. Top each serving with 1/2 cup sorbet. Spoon sauce evenly over sorbet and bananas; garnish each serving with 3 pecan halves. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

EXPRESS TO GO

Pine Tree Express Chinese Fast Food, Warner Center, 21600 Victory Blvd., Woodland Hills; [phone].

Many of our co-workers pick up takeout from Pine Tree Express for lunch and dinner. So we decided to try it recently. If you are not in the mood to cook, it's a good find.

We ordered two egg rolls (60 cents each), a combo plate with fried rice, orange chicken (hot and spicy), broccoli beef and pork ribs ($4.95) and a large a la carte order of kung pao beef (hot and spicy - $5.75). A fortune cookie comes with each order.

The food was fragrant, fresh-looking, tasty and the portions very large. Pine Tree uses cholesterol-free oil and no MSG.

The egg rolls were crisp (not soggy like some Asian restaurants serve) and filled with an assortment of well-seasoned shredded vegetables. They came with a red sweet sauce and a hot yellow mustard sauce. Mixing the two sauces gave the egg rolls a spicy taste. The orange chicken - large chunks of chicken pieces with a heavy batter coating and then deep fried - were drenched with an orange sauce and laced with large red chiles. It was delicious, but we picked out the chiles to avoid burning our mouths. Also, the batter on the chicken pieces might be too heavy for some diners.

The broccoli beef, dressed with a slightly thick brown sauce, consisted of large thin slices of beef, large pieces of cabbage, large spears of broccoli, green bell peppers and white onions. The vegetables were sweet and tender-crisp, but some of the beef slices were tough. The meaty, tender pork ribs were swimming in an Asian-style brown sauce. We thought the ribs were overly fatty. So if you don't like bones or fat, stay away.

Kung pao beef was a bit disappointing because the Pine Tree doesn't make it the traditional way with peanuts. Also it was supposed to be hot and spicy and it wasn't. Large pieces of sliced beef and chunks of green bell peppers and onions were satisfying, but we missed the peanuts and the spiciness.

You can order combo plates served with rice and/or chow mein for one item ($3.25), two items ($3.95) and three items ($4.95). Other dishes you can select for your combo plate include sweet chicken, kung pao chicken (hot and spicy), mushroom chicken, garlic chicken, egg fu young, barbecued pork, fried shrimp, bean curd, sweet and sour pork, teriyaki chicken, shrimp chop suey, broccoli chicken, egg soup and sour soup.

A la carte entrees are randomly served and include some of the dishes mentioned above along with others that follow. Vegetable fried rice (regular $1.50; large $2.85); and vegetable chow mein ($1.60 regular; $2.95 large) are also available a la carte, as is soup of the day ($1 per cup); steamed rice (75 cents per cup); Chinese chicken salad ($3.95); broccoli beef ($2.95 regular, $5.75 large), green pepper beef ($2.95), spicy beef with onions (hot and spicy - $2.95 regular, $5.75 large), sweet and sour pork ($2.95 regular, $5.75 large), mixed vegetables ($2.50 regular, $5.50 large), spicy chicken ($2.95 regular, $5.75 large), chicken with fresh mushrooms ($2.95 regular, $5.75 large), teriyaki chicken ($3.50 regular, $6.95 large), sweet chicken (hot and spicy - $2.95 regular, $5.95 large) and house special chicken ($2.95 regular, $5.95 large).

Pine Tree also offers a family value package of 6 egg rolls, 3 quarts of entrees, 2 quarts chow mein and 2 quarts fried rice - all for $21.95.

When you are ready for lunch or dinner, save time and waiting by calling in your order. Hours are Monday-Sunday 10:30 a.m. 9 p.m. You can dine in or take out. But be forewarned - they don't take credit cards.