Hai Bin Prawning

This place was a highlight of our trip to Singapore. The staff, especially Sunny and Wu, were extremely helpful in teaching our kids how to prawn, and even helped us grill them. We went on a Saturday afternoon and even though the place was moderately busy they were always willing to help.
Even though our vacation was packed with activities, both kids wanted to go back to Hai Bin, and I have to say I was tempted. The price was right, the experience was enjoyable, the prawns were tasty and the nearby wetlands added a relaxing end to the day. Very fun!

This place is like the younger, more modern cousin of the Sin Ming branch of Hai Bin. There’s blue lights and loud pulsating music that makes the place feel a bit like a club or theme park. To each her own, but I personally prefer the more kampong vibe of Sin Ming. This branch does have patin and crab ponds, which the Sin Ming branch doesn’t. However, when I was there the crab pond seemed to be either out of use or undergoing renovation.
When I went on a weekend, this place was jam packed with people. There was hardly any space to move. There were also many kids there prawning and even patin fishing. In fact, I saw a small kid catch a pretty huge patin. This made me think it must not be all that difficult but I didn’t try my hand at it because it was just too crowded. Patin fishing also looks more unnecessarily cruel as the fish are injured by the repeated attempts to hook them with rather flimsy rods. I did see many in others’ buckets that were badly scarred and even bleeding.

They have a few ponds for people to prawn, fish and crab but I usually go back for the fishing. The place is like a Patin fish party. Families go there to catch their next few week’s worth of fish.
I’m pretty sure they’re regulars and its easy to see why. Its 5 bucks to rent a rod, and the hook is tied to it with nylon string — without a reel. The rule is that you can catch as many or as little fish as you want until the line snaps.
As easy as it sounds, it takes quite abit of practice to get the hang of ‘fighting’ the Patin fish and then pulling it out of the water by its tail. Just hope lady luck is on your side and your line doesn’t snap within the first minute ;)