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Sam Yates fires up the grill for a perfect summer barbecue

In a city boasting this many beaches, country parks, rooftops and junks, barbecues are likely to be a big part of any summer. Unfortunately, you can’t simply arrive at the beach with a slab of beer and a bag of sausages and proceed to light a roaring fire from driftwood without getting into a bit of trouble. Indeed, often you can’t sit on a step in Hong Kong without getting into a bit of trouble. But, with a bit of planning and some luck with the weather, executing the perfect barbecue is simple.

Beach barbecues in Hong Kong usually mean next to the beach not on the beach, but the upside is you’re generally not too far from a shop or kiosk – handy if you forget any of the essentials. Many public barbecue sites recommend calling ahead to book a spot, which should ensure you don’t arrive all revved up with no place to grill. Otherwise, it’s first come, first served.

You can’t beat the views at Shek O Beach (Shek O Rd, 2809 4557. Take the 780 from Central and change at Chai Wan West for number 9, or take the 2 or 720 from Central and change at Shau Kei Wan for number 9 bus), which has covered barbecuing areas with benches that can be booked in advance. The beach tends to be a little quieter than many others. If Shek O’s barbecues are full, then a good nearby alternative is Stanley Main Beach (Stanley Beach Rd, 2813 0217. Take the 6, 6A or 260 bus from Exchange Square). It has space for around five small groups and is only a pleasant ten-minute walk to nearby pubs and restaurants (useful if your coals get cold or you run out of booze).

On the other side of Hong Kong, Upper Cheung Sha Beach (Lantau Island, 2980 2114. Take bus 1, 2, 4 from Mui Wo) is a great spot, and offers refreshment kiosks, toilets and showers – useful if you want to rid yourself of the smoky smell post-meal. Cafeteria Old Beach (18¾ milestone, Castle Peak Rd, Tuen Mun, 2450 6306; take bus 962 or 962B from Central), meanwhile, is a popular option for families with young kids – which probably means it’s best-avoided for the rest of us.

Barbecuing at country parks involves a bit more work and a lot more planning as sometimes the nearest supply shop is a couple of hours hike away. But for nature lovers it’s well worth it to be dining in the great outdoors. Our favourites are Ma On Shan Country Park in Sai Kung (take MTR to Shat Tin, then bus 299 to Sai Kung), with itsdramatic landscapes and one of the more difficult treks in Hong Kong, stretching more than 3km.  The sites at Ma On Shan Village and Nai Chung are popular by day-trippers. There are also sites at Shui Long Wo, Kei Ling Ha, Nai Chung and Ma On Shan Village.

Tai Mo Shan Country Park (take green minibus 80 from Tsuen Wan MTR to Chuen Lung Village, or take Bus 51 to the bus stop in front of the village), home to Hong Kong’s highest mountain, is another popular spot. It has a series of barbecue and picnic sites along Route Twisk for groups to park and grill. The 337-hecatre Kam Shan Country Park in north Kowloon (from Central, take bus 72, 81, 86B or a red minibus to Tai Po Road and get off at Kowloon Reservoir) has several barbecue and picnic areas dotted along Tai Po Road, the Kowloon Reservoir section and Smugglers' Ridge section of Kam Shan Road. A word of caution though: this trail is known as the home of Hong Kong’s macaque monkeys, and though mummy and baby macaque might look cute, they can smell food from miles away and aren’t afraid to detach you from your backpack to find a feast.

If the thought of all that organisation and shopping is overwhelming, and  you just want to work on the crisscross searing on the meat and poke the coals, you can have someone else do the hard work for you: shaping the burger patties, marinating meats, skewering vegetables, etc.  Delicious (2530 5938, around $490 per person) supplies staff, an open bar for two hours and three barbecue-friendly courses. You can either grill it yourself or you can have one of their cooks do it for you. Munch (2952 9991, around $498pp) offers the full package including a choice of 20 beers and soft drinks, all the necessary equipment, and a post-barbecue tidy-up. Tangelo (6479 6253, around $420pp) has a finger-licking menu, and they can leave a bit of the cooking to you, for freshness. Start with a trio of dips with grilled Turkish bread before moving on to seafood skewers with avocado and mango salsa, chicken breast fillets stuffed with feta, basil and sun dried tomatoes, and lamb and rosemary sausages with Spanish onion and red wine chutney.

• Mixed pepper and mushroom vegetarian kebabs (strung together on a skewer that has been soaked in water)
• Burger patties (pop them straight on when the grill is smoking hot)
• Sausages (pork are best)
• Lime, ginger and soy chicken (marinate the chicken overnight in lime, ginger and soy sauce)
• Purple spotted bigeye fish marinated in lemon, cracked black pepper and ginger (best to wrap this in foil so it doesn’t stick to the grill)
• Potato salad with spring onions and coriander (boil whole new potatoes in a large pot for ten minutes, then add mayo, salt, spring onions and chopped coriander)
• Spinach salad with crispy onions, tomatoes and butternut squash, with yoghurt and wholegrain mustard dressing
• Corn on the cob
• Melty chocolate toasted marshmallow snaps

Now that you’ve got the menu and the ingredients all you’ve got to do is light the bugger. I favour the scrunched up newspaper, twigs and coal method, but self-lighting coals are the tools of a more modern world. When hot, divide the coals up so that they are higher at one side. You ideally want a hot and a warm area on the grill. Now, before you get sloshed, place the corn in its foil on the grill, (this takes the longest to cook). Assemble your veg kebabs, and get them going on the hot grill. Now, cook to order. Give the chicken wings a good ten minutes on a medium flame, and then finish off for about five minutes on the hot grill (or people can cook their own on a kebab stick, directly over the flames). The burgers, sausages and fish (in its foil) should go on the hot grill. Open the fish and squeeze extra lemon quarters. Cook each for around eight minutes, until piping hot.