Crocodile dumplings and kangaroo on a train Down Under

On this iconic train journey through the center of Australia, the country’s most dangerous and unique creatures are turned into a tasty snack.

Aboard The Ghan, stretching from Darwin to Adelaide, Australian game and ingredients are featured in every meal. “Our story is about Australia, and the train is your vessel to get there,” says Malcolm Bendrau, chef and food & beverage general manager on The Ghan. “Australian meat and, in particular, game has been what Native Australians lived on and enjoyed for thousands of years. Our privilege is to showcase this land and what it has to offer.”

That means that for passengers aboard Journey Beyond’s Australian train rides, you may be biting down on a piece of grilled kangaroo as one hops away in the distance. 

The team onboard plates roughly 3,000 meals per journey through the Outback. One of its newly added appetizers is a grilled saltbush-crusted kangaroo loin. A commonly eaten meat in Australia, kangaroo is the world’s leanest protein and the equivalent of venison in America. For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal Australians have hunted these majestic animals for food.

“The kangaroo’s seasoning is best done using native saltbush; this gives an earthy and balanced seasoning to the protein. The beetroot and balsamic purée is dark, rich, and sharp,” says Bendrau. “This works very well with the flavor of kangaroo and adds color and vibrancy to the dish.”

While kangaroo is one of the dining car’s biggest novelties for international passengers, there are many other distinctly Aussie options, like the grilled Coorong mulloway fish fillet, which is served with pumpkin purée, a white bean and sumac salad, and sauce vierge.

The Ghan’s crocodile dumplings are a passenger favorite. Served alongside native beach succulent, these Asian-style dumplings come topped with sesame seeds and a gochujang anise myrtle dressing. 

And yes, they do taste like chicken.

Another Outback creature, commonly found in the Northern Territory, is the buffalo. Onboard the train, it’s made into a Thai Massaman-style curry. This super fragrant, flavorful dish features slow-cooked, fall-apart-tender buffalo in a curry with notes of clove and nutmeg. The side serving of jasmine rice and roti was the perfect antidote to the addictive lingering spice hit.

But Bendrau is constantly dreaming up new Aussie-inspired menu items for Journey Beyond’s various multi-day train trips across the country. 

His newest creation is a confit duck dish, made with duck from Victoria. This tenderized duck is served with bulgar wheat and carrot ragu, sweetcorn purée and orange jus. For a Down Under-play on a French duck à l’orange, they keep things local. “The oranges are Riverland oranges from South Australia and add a fruity and slightly acidic flavor to the rich jus,” he says.

Aside from the big, flashy and sometimes frightening game ingredients coming from the train kitchen, there are subtle notes of Australia on every plate. Whether it be breakfast bacon from local purveyors like Barossa Fine Foods in South Australia’s Barossa Valley or a sticky date pudding with a side of Indigenous wattleseed ice cream.

Like many items on The Ghan’s menu, wattleseed is considered “bush food.” Picked by Aboriginals for tens of thousands of years, wattleseed, plucked from the native Acacia plants, is high in protein and traditionally roasted over an open fire and ground down to make bread. Today, its earthy, sweet notes often pair well with the last course.

“Wattle seed’s coffee and chocolate notes add a native differential to certain dishes, but specifically desserts and canapés,” says Bendrau. “I could mention hundreds of ingredients, but the basis of using them is to have our guests fully immersed in Australia.”