Many people ask me where the best public BBQ pits in Hong Kong are and I would say Kau Wa Keng or Kau Wah Keng in Lai King. It is definitely a hidden gem that most people will not find on guide books and Lonely Planet and the likes.

I was hiking in the Lai King area when I stumbled upon this hidden gem.

As you can see the area is quite scenic with a lot of greenery and not many cars and it’s a good way to spend the Sunday afternoon. The best way to get to Kau Wa Keng is by MTR where you get off at Lai King and walk from the station.

You can see from the above picture that Kau Wa Keng is actually situated in a valley with hills on 3 sides of it.

As you approach from Castle Peak Road, there is a slip road you can enter to get to Kau Wa Keng faster through a road called “Chung Shan Terrace” which supposedly is a private road.

The above is the entrance to the Kau Wa Keng BBQ pits and as you enter you will probably mesmerised by its vastness and the day I went (e.g. Sunday) there were quite a lot of people already there and the atmosphere was very jolly. Lots of excitement, children playing, ghetto blasters playing music and people drinking beer.

Beyond the BBQ pits you can see a lot of vegetation with villagers planting their own produce in their allocated plots.

Geographically Kau Wa Keng is divided into 2 separate sections – one is the old village (in chinese :九華徑舊村) and the other is the new village (in chinese:九華徑新村).

For directioins on how to get to Kau Wa Keng, check out these 2 links:-

Directions to Kau Wa Keng Old Village (https://www.oneday.com.hk/en_US/buildings/kau-wa-keng-old-village/) and Kau Wa Keng New Village (https://www.oneday.com.hk/en_US/buildings/kau-wa-keng-new-village/)

Hope this has been useful for all your adventurous travellers out there.