“Why This Restaurant” is a short series of posts about the restaurants we work with – their cuisine, our wines, how and why they work together, and of course the people.
A single raw baby clam, fresh from the tank, without any sauce or dressing, perfectly captures what we love about The Naked Finn. The flesh was soft, with a bit of crunch, and a fresh, delicate flavour, bookended by the taste of brine and iron. It was just one clam, but the purity of approach is evident across the entire menu. Ken Loon, the proprietor, has achieved this by taking a guest-first approach (“what can we do for the guest”) and focusing on largely invisible (to the guest) processes: impeccable sourcing, immaculate handling, and intelligent preparation. This obsessiveness makes it easy and a delight to work with Ken and his team.
Most obviously, the ‘naked’ style of cooking lends itself to a pared-down approach to wine pairing, where food and drink work together seamlessly. Our favourite is the 2009 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine «Château Thébaud», a muscular, quietly intense Muscadet (much like the winegrower, Marc Ollivier), but both the 2009 Pinon Vouvray Silex Noir and 2010 François Cazin Cheverny Rosé are very good matches for the entire savoury menu, including bar snacks.
Just as importantly, there are remarkable similarities between our respective approaches, which has made it easy for us to build mutual understanding and respect. Much like how we have long-term relationships with our winegrowers in Europe, we appreciate every opportunity to do so with restaurateurs here, and are especially glad for Ken and his team. We wish that there were more Naked Finns in Singapore, but this one is a very good start.
Majulah Singapura.
Restaurant details
Website: www.nakedfinn.com
Address: 41 Malan Road, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 109454
Phone: +65 6694 0807