‘Mexican streetfood in a restored VW Kombi? A hot idea!’ says Franco Malaya of Mexikombi.

MANILA, Philippines - Take someone who loves Mexican food as well as classic Volkswagens, and what do you get? A Mexikombi, that’s what. 

In December 2011, Franco Malaya, a Volkswagen enthusiast, was strolling in Baguio City with his wife, Yasmin, when they saw a taco jeep, which was built from a multicab minivan, parked along Session Road.  Instantly, it was an “aha” moment for Franco. “That is what I want,” he told his wife.

Franco acquired a 1974 VW Kombi and promptly worked at getting it restored. He already owned a 1969 VW Beetle and later, he would acquire a 1977 VW Kombi as well. Restoring and reselling vintage Volkswagens is not only an interest but  also a passion.

Another is music. Franco plays drums with the three-piece instrumental band Pulso, where model, artist and composer Robby Mananquil is the lead guitarist. The third member of the phenomenal rock band is Matt Warren on bass and digital effects. When Franco is not beating his drums, he is rolling burritos in his food truck. Food is yet another passion.

Together with former bandmates Jake Caruncho and Paulo Chavez, Franco put together the Mexican food truck Mexikombi. Later, another college bandmate, Kel Sicat, who like Franco studied Computer Science, would join them.

“The inspiration came from watching The Great Food Truck Race. Perhaps, that’s where every food truck owner got it,” Kel noted. “The concept was to put up a Mexican street-food truck out of a junk VW Kombi. We wanted to show people that classic VWs are still very reliable and road-worthy, and at the same time, inspire young entrepreneurs that we don’t need to spend millions to start a business. People would always get amazed once they hear that we built the truck from junk, DIY style,” Franco adds. “We were able to customize the van for a quarter of what it would have cost if we brought it to a customizing shop.”

Next they worked on their own recipes. “We focused on the big three: nachos, burritos, and soft tacos,” Franco relates. The nachos have tortilla chips, salsa, grated cheese, garlic aioli, and a choice of ground pork, beef or chicken.

The burritos have fried red kidney beans, diced tomato and roasted bell pepper salsa, beef, pork or chicken and Mexican rice cooked in a special way with chicken stock.

“Maskina rice lang, masarap na,” Franco says. “We have the regular 10-inch wrap and grande 12-inch wrap, which is good for two.

“We chose to have soft tacos, which is easier to handle and less messy to eat,” he continues. “It is like the burritos but without the rice.”

Musician Jake Caruncho, who took up culinary studies, is the resident chef, while Kel, an IT professional, takes care of marketing and operations. Yasmin, a graduate of Statistics from UP and currently working in a telecom company, takes care of accounting and finance. Paulo Chavez, who takes care of business and legal matters, works in a bank in Singapore.

Still in their late 20s and early 30s, all the partners have regular day jobs except for Franco, who has his plate already quite full as he is engaged in multiple enterprises.

The food truck venture has not been without its challenges.  While they have received a favorable response and enjoy brisk business — “We normally hear feedback about how tasty our food is and how different and generous our servings are,” Kel noted — “unfortunately, we are currently understaffed and only operate during the weekends. So our main goal is to operate on a regular basis, hopefully by next year. Our long-term plan is to build more trucks!”

Meanwhile, Franco continues to dream. He would like to be able to put up a regular restaurant eventually where customers can sit down and enjoy their meal. “With more space, we will also be able to expand the food truck’s limited menu,” Franco adds. Foodies, take note.

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For inquiries, contact 0916-4395549, or follow @mexikombi or FB, Twitter and Instagram.