Naked Finn Boss Opens New Eatery With $9.50 Nett Gourmet Cheeseburger

The man behind the eatery is Ken Loon, who’s also the owner of seafood specialist Naked Finn. In 2019, he opened BurgerLabo at Gillman Barracks, a “lab” which serves meticulously-researched gourmet burgers. At an average of $25 for a burger with a 150g patty and fries, BurgerLabo’s pricing isn’t like your typical fast food chain.

This year, Ken decided to set up the casual 2280 with wallet-friendly prices, starting from $9.50 nett for a single patty burger ($13.50 for double patty; top up $4.50 for shoestring fries). There’s also no GST or service charge here. “BurgerLabo is a lab for us to R&D in pursuit of a better burger. But the prices are too high to be mass market,” Ken tells 8days.sg. Other than selling burgers at a lower price, 2280 also serves as a production facility for the nearby BurgerLabo’s patties.

Ken points out that the humble burger is so well-loved worldwide as it’s “universal comfort food”, though he takes his burger research very seriously. When he was setting up BurgerLabo, he discovered that the beef neck cut had the most ideal texture and flavour for a good burger patty. “The starting point of a good burger is always the patty. It’s the soul of the patty,” he says. “How do we define a good patty? It’s beefy and umami with a good bite.”

The same neck cut is used at 2280, which is not named after your weekend 4D bet. According to Ken, abattoirs have specific number codes for various beef cuts, which their customers have to use when placing an order for meat. “2280 is the abattoirs’ international four-digit code for the beef neck cut,” he says.

Ken has also lavished considerable effort into designing the ideal stacking sequence for his burger. While some burger joints wedge a piece of lettuce between the bun and patty so that the beefy juices wouldn’t make the bread soggy, he reckons “there should be as little as possible between my tongue and the patty”. At 2280, his kitchen team omits the veggie and ‘seals’ the buns cradling the patty with a smear of brown butter to prevent sogginess. Each burger comes with a beef patty, cheddar, onions and a dash of house-made shio kombu mayonnaise.

Due to differences in prices, the same high-grade beef used at BurgerLabo can't be served at 2280. “It can never compete with BurgerLabo’s wagyu burger,” Ken shares frankly. But to amp up the juiciness for 2280’s patties, he adds “beef garum” to the meat. “It’s an umami sauce that’s high in salt content,” he says, adding that it also substitutes the typical salt that’s used to flavour the burger patties. The patties are also blast-frozen, then cooked directly without defrosting on a cast iron grill to produce the Maillard reaction, a chemical process that makes food extra flavourful by controlling the heat, moisture level and cooking time.

2280 is located in a pretty ulu industrial area at Henderson Road. “If I [open in] a mall today, I won’t be able to sell my burgers at $9.50,” quips Ken, who spent “half a million” on renovating the restaurant. The result is a swish, sleek spot where you can enjoy a gourmet burger without damaging your wallet.

Ordering at 2280 is done via a self-service kiosk at the front of the restaurant. Our burger is delivered to our table in a no-frills cardboard tray with a $4.50 add-on side of crispy salted fries. Refreshingly unpretentious, and we could properly focus on the burger. From appearance alone, it looks like the Bella Hadid of burgers; the brown butter-brushed buns hold a thick 100g hand-formed patty with cheese that has been melted with a blowtorch. For its price, the burger is satisfying enough; beefy, well-seasoned patty between fluffy buns, oozy cheddar and sweet onions with a bit of crunch. Don’t expect super juicy top-notch meat (that, you’d have to pay more for at BurgerLabo), but we say go ahead and order the double patty burger here — the taller stack and extra beef ups the shiok factor so much more.

Accompanying the burgers is a small drinks selection comprising hot and iced Tiong Hoe coffees (from $4.50), iced teas (from $3.50), Orion beer ($9.80) and this vanilla milkshake blended with ice cream from artisanal ice cream joint Apiary. Delish enough and makes a tasty sidekick for your burger meal, if you’re not price-conscious.

Address: #01-10 Henderson Industrial Park, 213 Henderson Rd, S159553 (no delivery)

Opening hours: Open Mon-Sat, 11am-10pm

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Photos: Kelvin Chia