Hong Kong chefs create sizzling standout dishes using different grilling techniques

Grilling has gone beyond flipping burgers over a flame or putting "another shrimp on the barbie". There are many techniques hailing from all corners of the globe which produce different flavours, many of which we are lucky to be able to experience in Hong Kong's dining scene.

This method of cooking by applying direct - and sometimes indirect - heat to food can be done in all kinds of ways. Britain, for instance, prefers to place food directly under the heat source, whereas in the United States diners want it cooked on top of direct heat. Then there are rotisseries from Persia and yakitori from Japan - a style that has become popular across Asia in which meat and vegetables are put on a skewer and grilled over a charcoal fire.

The flavours are also determined by what is burned as the heat source - usually charcoal, wood or gas.

We discovered some interesting grills across the city, starting with the newly opened Shoku Bar and Restaurant at The Pulse, which specialises in Japanese binchotan grill. When you walk into the beachside restaurant, the open kitchen centrepiece displays a charcoal grill where head chef Gavin Chow grills fish, seafood and meat.

"The whole concept of binchotan is using a high-density charcoal," Chow says. "There are so many ways of using this charcoal. In Japan, they use it for cooking, for cleaning, for purifying water. Because it is high-density, it holds temperature really well. It's about 200 to 300 degrees Celsius hotter than normal charcoal. So once you have put the food [on the grill], it seals in all the juices of the food immediately.