Prawn fishing has been a much enjoyed leisure activity for many in Singapore. The anticipation of landing a bite, the thrill of hooking a catch and the live grilling of your prized trophies at the end of the day are probably what make prawning a fun sport for people of all ages.
Hai Bin @ Bishan has been one of the most popular outlets for prawning here. After six years in operation, Hai Bin (Bishan) will close down today as its landlord, N-Parks has imposed a rental hike of 300% that makes it impossible for business to continue.
To commemorate its last day today, Hai Bin is offering every customer a free 3-hour prawning session from 7.00am to midnight.
We headed there this afternoon just to catch a last glimpse of the tranquil kampong life. Needless to say, the place was packed to the max. Always so, whenever there are FREEBIES anywhere, anytime. We didn’t manage to get rods for ourselves as the next and last available session was only for 10pm. As it’d be a very long wait, we decided to just do people (and prawn) watching instead.
People just flocked in relentlessly. Three generations of a family, big groups of friends, etc. At first I thought there wasn’t going to be enough prawns left to catch with the number of people around, but was pleasantly surprised to see the working staff replenishing prawn stock in every pond on a regular basis.
To make the most of our visit, we had dinner at the food court next to the prawning farm. Ordered ngoh hiang popiah from the stall next to the satay/chicken wings stall. $12.70 for 3 persons, for 1 otah roll, 1 egg roll, 1 fish cake, 1 meat roll, 1 tau kwa and 1 dough fritter. It wasn’t an overly impressive meal but still pretty decent for a place like here.
Next time I might check out the Nature Park Beer Garden for seafood.
Former Hai Bin Prawning / Current Nature Park Beer Garden & Food Court
603 Sin Ming Avenue
(next to Asian Golf Academy)