MALAYA

Malaya means to be free in Tagalog, and it is a Filipino cafe that Salvador started with his sister in Silver Lake in July 2025. The drinks are the reason it travelled. Pandan and ube lattes come out in colors that look invented, and the matcha versions of both are the ones we come back for, with mango, banana caramel and strawberry filling in around them. Filipino baking is on the counter alongside: ensaymadas, and coconut ice cream to go with them, which is a combination the rest of the city has not caught up to. A second Malaya opened in Arcadia as a walk-up window, and it brought a food menu with it. We would send anybody who has never had pandan here first, because the pandan matcha makes the case in one sip.