Welcome to Star Anise
star anise is open Tuesday to Saturday from 6:30pm
For reservations please contact us by phone
sorry no email bookings
ph: +61 8 9381 9811
visit pata negra restaurant
phone +61 8 9389 5517
www.patanegra.com.au
AUSTRALIAN GOURMET TRAVELLER 2010 AUSTRALIAN RESTAURANT GUIDE
David Coomer works hard to stay at the forefront of dining in the West. Tucked away from the city centre here at Star Anise, his menu changes with the seasons, testing culinary boundaries all the while. His dégustation menu exhibits enviable lightness of touch: a thimble of whipped sweetcorn soup comes with a tiny hot croquette packed with crabmeat, while a small marron is poached with apple eggplant in a spice coconut broth to great effect. The star turn is a main of two hour poached egg with baby peas, jamón Ibérico and red pepper sauce. Pre-desserts of green apple and basil sorbet and light apple jelly show a playful, progressive edge, while a more traditional dessert of passionfruit soufflé with passionfruit mascarpone parfait brings the meal to a satisfying close. Add slick, professional service and a well rounded wine list, and it's easy to see Star Anise pulling power.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 2010 & THE AGE GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2010
A decade of accolades hasn't dimmed the shine on David Coomer's elegant fine-diner. Its take on modern, Asian-influenced food remains unsurpassed in Perth. The results are consistently sublime, with dishes like signature crispy aromatic duck and Manjimup marron in a fragrant coconut curry with Thai basil and snake beans.
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE.
THE A-LIST. 50 GREAT AUSTRALIAN RESTAURANTS, SEPTEMBER 2009
Chef/restaurateur David Coomer has enjoyed an extraordinary 11-year run at Star Anise, one of only a handful of Perth restaurants always touted as being worth the big quids they ask for in the West. It shows little sign of waning. Why? Enthusiasm radiates from the staff, the wine list and, more importantly, the kitchen. Coomer's shtick is Modern Oz, and yes, it's still with us. From a bit of Modern Spanish slow cooked egg with jamon to an Asian-inspired duck in broth and on to a killer selection of cheeses, the consistent theme is style, quality and terrific kitchen skills. A restaurant with the pleasure meter right off the dial, all night.
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE, FOOD AND WINE AUGUST 2009
Eleven years young, it's not hard to see why Star Anise is still always grouped among a modest number of restaurants that cast a shadow over the city's smallish fine-dining scene. Star Anise is a place with a spring in its heel. You feel it the moment you arrive. Staff smile; they seem glad to welcome you and happy to be useful. Intent on providing service that matches the restaurant's reputation. In short, they merely do the things they're supposed to; they just do it with more feeling than most. And to me, that speaks volumes about management. I'm sure it also helps explain why, on a black Tuesday night, the place is fully booked and beating to a very pleasant rhythm of couples, families and friends.
It's not the whole story, though. Anise is owned by chef David Coomer and the food is clearly the guy's badge of honour. It shares that zeal and pride with the staff, the same energy so rare in a restaurant of this age and status. The wine list too has fresh, interesting choices that suggest enthusiasm rather than just a collection of easy-sellers. In short, Star Anise feels like a two-year-old hitting its straps.
Coomer's food is what you'd call Sensible Modern; it keeps an eye on trends but there's no interest in deconstruction, and his flavour combinations are more classic than confrontational. And if you want to take the Keating approach and do Coomer slowly, you're best choosing his tasting menu. Perth may be an inflated city for many commodities, but at $110 per head, you'd be lucky to go anywhere near this back east. A tumbler of warm beetroot soup is tarted up with horseradish yoghurt and a single crostino of beautifully spiced beef tartare, dressed with baby beetroot shoots, of course. Anise is one of those places you never find yourself reaching for the salt or pepper; such is the judgment out back. Superb seared scallops are sandwiched with a slice of black truffle, sat on a splodge of sweetcorn puree, slapped with a wafer of fried Jerusalem artichoke and, finally, drizzled with a tiny bit of brown butter. It's all there, in balance. Coomer's take on the ubiquitous – but totally lovable – slow-cooked soft egg is a combo of crushed peas and proper Iberico jamon, the egg getting a garnish of olive powder and red pepper essence. And his signature duck dish, combining the flavours of anise and mandarin in a ducky burnt-red broth that goes with juicy roasted breast slices, boned fried leg and resilient wok-fried choy sum is a revelation, a Mod-Oz classic worthy of the reputation.
I really enjoyed Star Anise; it has the feeling of a restaurant very comfortable in its own skin. It's infectious.
John Lethlean Review Rating 8/10.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, MUST EAT, NOVEMBER 2008
Australian cuisine's flair for absorbing Asian influences with a bit of Mediterranean on the side gets no better expression than in the hands of David Coomer. In a gracious entry on his website, Coomer acknowledges his specialist suppliers, but it is his handling of this produce that has been winning accolades, which include his two chef's hats in this year's Gourmet Traveller restaurant awards. Consider the Manjimup marron served in a spiced coconut broth with oyster mushrooms and baby corn, and crispy aromatic duck with a sweet and sour mandarin and ginger sauce. Watch for a Moorish venture slated for early 2009.
BOOKS
Coast - Seaside Recipes From Australia's Leading Chefs
Edited by Kendall Hill
Photography by Jennifer Soo
Australian chefs and their fearless way with food are taking the world by storm. In Coast, a stellar gathering of Australia's most accomplished chefs have contributed recipes that draw their inspiration from our coastal lifestyle and the diverse culinary cultures of the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas. With stunning photos taken on location along Australia's pristine shores, this timely and beautiful book celebrates a cuisine widely acknowledged to be among the most innovative in the world.
Coast features David Coomer's recipe for Ma Hor on pages 8 & 9, under the "Starters & Light Meals" section.
star anise is open Tuesday to Saturday from 6:30pm
For reservations please contact us by phone
sorry no email bookings
ph: +61 8 9381 9811
visit pata negra restaurant
phone +61 8 9389 5517
www.patanegra.com.au
copyright star anise 2010