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" Our food editor, Babs Chernetz, travels all over the country (and the world) in search of tasty food; check in with her here for some of her latest finds! Here&amp;#039;s Babs on her city-to-the-islands-and-back trip to Sydney and the Whitsunday Islands in Australia.   (Above: Fine dining on Babs&amp;#039;s flight around the world) I flew to Australia recently to check out Hayman, the newly-renovated Hayman Island resort, located on the northernmost of the Whitsunday Islands in the Great Barrier Reef. Since I&amp;#039;d traveled halfway around the world to get from New York City to Australia, I decided to make the most of my journey by spending some time in Sydney before and after to check out the food scene (but more about that in my next post!). I was lucky enough to fly business class on Qantas, and I thought the food was delicious. Neil Perry, one of Australia&amp;#039;s top chefs, is the consulting chef for Qantas. One of my favorite dishes was the crumbled free-range pork cutlet with sauteed potatoes, braised red cabbage, and a dollop of aioli on top (above.) The first night I stayed in Sydney at Establishment Hotel, which has a hip, boutique vibe; it&amp;#039;s within walking distance of the harbor, the Sydney Opera House, and George Street for shopping. The next morning I took a short flight to Hamilton Island, and from there I caught a sea plane to the resort (you can also take a boat or a helicopter). The resort is stunning; I&amp;#039;d never been before the renovation, but I had always heard how beautiful it was, and you&amp;#039;d never know that the island and the resort had been devastated by cyclones only a year ago. The rooms have all been renovated, eight luxury beach villas have been added, the gorgeous pools and garden have been rebuilt, and the restaurants have all reopened. One can relax completely and get away from it all - or partake in a variety of activities the resort offers, from sports like tennis and squash to relaxing spa treatments.  (Above: A picnic lunch down under.) One day I went snorkeling and the resort packed a luscious picnic lunch (above), and I wasn&amp;#039;t sure what I enjoyed more - seeing all the colorful fish, the turtles, and the coral reef, or the lunch I ate on the beach. The really wonderful thing about this experience is that you&amp;#039;re dropped off right on the secluded beach, and you can swim out and start snorkeling right away. It was truly unforgettable!  (Above: Modern Australian cuisine at Fontaine.)  (Above: Rack of lamb at Fontaine.) The resort has several different restaurants, from the beachfront Azure (where I had a delicious breakfast every day) to Fontaine, which serves modern Australian cuisine; I had scallops topped with pine nuts and parsley cubes and rack of lamb (both above).  (Above: Australian goes Asian at Oriental.)   (Above: Pizza at La Trattoria.)  (Above: Babs&amp;#039;s first meal on Hayman Island, at the Beach Pavilion.) Oriental offers a variety of Asian dishes, such as barbequed duck spring rolls and steamed eggplant salad with smashed garlic, sesame, ginger, and green shallot oil. La Trattoria, in turn, served me a magnificent pizza, and the Beach Pavilion welcomed me on my first day with sliders and sweet potato fries. The cuisine, in short, was as kaleidoscopic as the activity board. Whether you just want to kick back and relax or stay physically fit and active, Hayman Island has it all!  Stay tuned for Babs&amp;#039;s next post, on where to eat and what to see in Sydney! If You Go Book a flight through Qantas Hayman (on the Great Barrier Reef) Establishment Hotel (in Sydney) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/food-recipes/advice/a13952/australia-great-barrier-reef-resort/>