When a craving for the comforting flavours of a distant home refuses to fade, it can spark a beautiful, unexpected journey. For sisters Kavya and Ramya Allaparthi, that journey took the shape of Las Hermanas, a vibrant food truck bringing Mexican street food to Goa with a distinctly local twist.
The idea
The idea began with tacos.
After moving back to Goa from the US in July last year, Ramya found herself missing the food trucks she had grown accustomed to. She missed the casual experience of walking up to a colourful truck, ordering a taco and enjoying food that was comforting, uncomplicated and full of character.
Back in Goa, she realised there were only a handful of places serving Mexican food.
The thought stayed with her until one day she called her sister.
“And then one day I just called up, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, we should do this,’” Ramya recalls.
Kavya was in.
The idea was born in October. By February, Las Hermanas was on the road.
The story
What followed was a whirlwind of planning, designing, experimenting, and figuring things out. But the sisters knew from the beginning that they did not want to create just another food business. They wanted Las Hermanas to have a story.
Ramya, an architect and design student, played a key role in shaping the visual identity. The sisters created a fictional narrative around the brand: Mexican travellers arrive in Goa, explore its markets and gradually begin blending the flavours of their homeland with the food and culture they discover here.
That imaginary story became the foundation for the real business.
The colours, packaging and branding all grew from it, creating a visual world that reflects what the sisters wanted Las Hermanas to be.
The menu
Nowhere is that meeting point more evident than on the menu.
The first dish conceptualised was a Chicken Cafreal taco, a combination that immediately established the direction they wanted to take.
The same approach runs through the menu. The Vindaloo Chicken taco and Prawn Balchao taco take two unmistakably Goan preparations and place them in a Mexican street-food format. The menu also features Pulled Chipotle Chicken tacos and Lamb Birria, a slow-cooked Mexican classic that has emerged as the bestseller.
Even dessert follows the same philosophy. Churros are paired with a Goan coconut-jaggery caramel, bringing together the familiar Spanish-Mexican sweet with flavours associated with Goa.
The menu remains a work in progress. Seasonal specials allow them to experiment, with their monsoon offerings including Mexican hot chocolate and fire-grilled corn on the cob. Ramya also keeps in touch with friends from Mexico, drawing on those conversations for ideas and inspiration.
There is more to come. Beef and pork are among the ingredients being considered for introduction, opening up another set of possibilities for their Mexico-meets-Goa approach.
Behind the truck
Behind the colourful truck is an operation requiring as much coordination as a conventional restaurant.
Food preparation takes place at a base kitchen, while final assembly and service happen on the truck. The sisters have divided responsibilities according to their strengths, with Kavya handling much of the day-to-day operations, design, packaging and marketing, while Ramya remains closely involved with the brand, food concept and creative direction.
To fuel this moving kitchen, they have assembled a passionate, close-knit crew that blends local Goan talent with incredible culinary experts flown in from across the country.
Growing response
It is a young venture still finding its rhythm, but the response has already encouraged them.
Las Hermanas moves between locations including Kadamba, Miramar and Margao. Having grown up in North Goa, the sisters expected that region to be their strongest market.
Margao surprised them.
The South Goa location brought immediate pre-bookings and a level of demand they had not anticipated.
“Honestly, all three have really surprised us and we've been really lucky to receive this kind of love,” Ramya says.
That response has reinforced another part of their vision. Their ambitions now extend beyond Goa. They dream of taking Las Hermanas across India, but they do not see a permanent restaurant as the ultimate destination.
They want to remain a food truck because its mobility, informality and sense of discovery are central to what they are building.
They also want to challenge the perception that food trucks are unhygienic or somehow less credible than traditional restaurants. For the sisters, a mobile kitchen can meet the same standards of care, cleanliness and consistency as any established food business.
A bigger lesson
Perhaps the biggest lesson Las Hermanas has given them so far, however, has little to do with business.
“I feel like when you're young, I think it's the only time you can actually put in this number of hours,” she says.
The sisters may have started with tacos, but what they are really serving is a little more intangible: the courage to try something different, the joy of creating something together and the belief that a good idea does not always need to wait for the perfect time.
Sometimes, you just have to call your sister and say, why don't we do this?
And then, somehow, you put the wheels in motion.
