SMALL BITES DIM SUM MAKES MENU FOR EASTER.

Byline: - Larry Lipson

Why would an Easter buffet champagne brunch feature a Chinese mandarin food station offering dim sum and noodle dishes?

The answer is simply that there's a highly experienced Hong Kong chef on the premises, so why not use his expertise? The restaurant is Cafe Sierra in the Universal Hilton Hotel, 555 Universal Hollywood Drive, Universal City, where buffet meals are regular events and taken very seriously.

On this particular Easter Sunday the holiday brunch ($41.88) of king crab legs, shrimp, sushi, sashimi, oysters, crawfish, mussels, poached salmon, lox, pates, deli salads, cheeses, roast pig, prime rib, turkey, ham, leg of lamb and brisket takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and children from ages 3 to 10 can take their own food from a new kids' station for $20.

Also an Easter dinner buffet here ($46.88, children 3 to 10 $21) from 5 to 10 p.m. highlights lobster thermidor, shark's fin soup and prime rib.

Information and reservations: [phone].

LAMB ITALIAN STYLE: Other interesting Easter meals around town include a typical Italian Easter baby lamb dinner ($35) with fava beans, artichokes, asparagus and peas at Pecorino, 11604 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, in addition to the regular menu. Information and reservations: [phone] or pecorinorestaurant.com; also a lavish Easter live jazz buffet at Le Merigot Beach Hotel, 1740 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica, priced at $70 (children $32). Information, reservations: [phone] or lemerigothotel.com.

EGG OPTIONS: Alternative Easter brunch options reach as high as $105 (children under 13 $45) at Ortolan, 8338 W. Third St., where chef-owner Christophe Eme's sit-down affair presents such dishes as eggs and caviar cooked in hot ash, and lamb three ways. Reservations: [phone].