I’d long heard high praise about Moon and Turtle, founded by Mark and Soni Pomaski in 2013. Mark is an award-winning chef who trained under chef Roy Yamaguchi and at Nobu in New York City and Soni runs the bar program and front-of-house.

Due to limited space and high demand, reservations are a must. I reserved a seat at the bar rather than a table. When I arrived just before the 5:30 p.m. opening, a line had already formed outside.

Based on my preference for citrus-forward cocktails, Soni suggested the Lemon Peel Lemonade. The drink combines vodka, lemon juice and soda water with preserved lemon peel, which adds a subtle salinity, giving a familiar combination a unique flavor.

While some menu items are staples — removing the mushroom risotto may cause a customer coup, Soni said — most change daily. Hilo-born chef Mark uses seasonal, local ingredients combined with boundary-pushing creativity rooted in the flavors of his childhood, such as smoked meat and fish.

The Smoky Sashimi combined thinly sliced local ʻahi, Kiawe-smoked soy sauce, Hawaiian chili pepper water and a touch of olive oil. It was delicately flavored and absolutely melted in my mouth. The Lehi Ceviche, made with local iron-jaw snapper, papaya and garlic-citrus leche de tigre was unforgettable. I devoured it.

Every dish I tried was so impeccably balanced that the flavors seemed to blur into a single cohesive profile. For dessert, I ordered a rich, savory miso cheesecake that evoked buttery salted caramel. Once again, it broadened my palate and left me already longing for my next visit.

Open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The Imu Mea ʻAi Food Tour is about a 40 minutes drive south of Hilo to Pahoa.

Iopa Maunakea created his immersive tour in 2024 as a way for guests to experience the ancient cultural practice of building an imu, or underground oven, and cooking from it, a tradition he has practiced his whole life.

Proceeds from the tour support Maunakea’s nonprofit Men of PAʻA program, which helps Native Hawaiian men transition out of state systems and build job skills.

On agricultural land his family has used for years, he and his team welcomed us with iced tea made from mamaki leaves grown nearby. Then they taught us an oli, a traditional Hawaiian chant, before leading us through the process of building an imu.

Each of us took turns getting our hands dirty. While we worked, another nearby imu built by a previous group cooked our lunch, a process that takes far longer than the four-hour tour allows.

What emerged from the imu that we helped unearth was some of the most authentically delicious Hawaiian food I have ever tasted. Kalua pig, fish, vegetables and taro — no lūʻau can rival what I experienced here.

Throughout the tour, Maunakea and his welcoming team invite visitors to engage with ancient Hawaiian traditions and connect with the culture while fostering community and stewardship among everyone present. We closed out the day by reciting an oli together and sharing what impacted us most about the experience.

I watched grown men from the mainland tear up as they described how meaningful and genuine the day felt. One said it reminded him of being at a friend’s house for a backyard barbecue.

Not only did we get to taste traditional Hawaiian food, we also helped prepare it using an ancient technique, forging a new ʻohana, or family, amongst the group and our hosts.

After you return to the hotel and have had some rest, I recommend taking a stroll among the massive banyan trees across the street from the hotel, planted by celebrities beginning in 1933. You’ll marvel at the names on the plaques in front of the trees, including Amelia Earhart and Babe Ruth.

The Amelia Earhart tree in Hilo. Photo by Natasha Bourlin.

Then walk over to the lush, tranquil Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens. This park was my mother’s favorite. We visited it together often. The grassy landscape is dotted with cloud-touching trees, bridges, pathways and small pools. Dedicated to Queen Liliuokalani in 1917, it’s considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan.

The Temple Kitchen + Bar offers refreshing and flavorful craft cocktails to pair with innovative dishes by Chef Grace Ryan.

Settle into one of the cozy couches (they have tables too, reservations for dinner are encouraged as they fill up quickly), where you can chat with others sharing a communal coffee table. I felt as if we were all just hanging out in a friend’s living room.

For cocktails, I recommend the Pisco Sour and the Sandy Lei — this is apparently co-owner Lei Kapuni Hatch’s favorite. It’s a vodka-based drink made with lemon and tart liliko’i, muddled ginger and a salt, pepper and Hawaiian chili rim.

The Smoky Flatbread made with smoked bacon, pipikaula (Hawaiian dried beef), caramelized onions, smoked gouda, chipotle cream sauce, Hawaiian chili-marinated mozzarella and shiso is also delicious. You should also try the pork belly poke, locally-grown kalo, or taro, and cassava with chimichurri and anything they are running as a special — it was Maui Nui venison chorizo tacos the day I went.

If you are too tired to walk back to the hotel, you can order a rideshare — a luxury not readily available everywhere on Hawai’i Island.

If you are looking for poke to picnic on in the park, check out Suisan Fish Market. Looking at its weather-beaten blue façade you’d never know the inside held some of the freshest poke you’ll ever taste. My $18 poke bowl was literally bursting with tender, melt-in-your-mouth ʻahi prepared two different ways atop steamed rice.

Perched high above Hilo is OK Farms, which grows cacao, coffee, lychee, macadamia nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and oodles of other fruits, vegetables and spices.

Here, you can take a roughly 1-hour tour that shuttles you through several orchards on a 15-person bus. You’ll stop twice along the way to view waterfalls from scenic overlooks. The tour offers an entirely different view of Rainbow Falls, a popular stop outside of Hilo, from across and above it. You’ll also see the cascading waters of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea where they meet before flowing into the ocean.

The tour culminates in the farm store where you can purchase locally-crafted products along with everything that grows on the farm.

Rainbow Falls farm tour at OK Farms. Photo by Natasha Bourlin.