Malai, a South Asian-inspired ice cream parlor, opens on 14th Street

Malaysia. 1407 T St., NO.

Malaysia has been serving aromatic, South Asian-inspired ice cream flavors like ginger root and masala chai in New York City for nearly a decade. This Saturday, May 18, the first DC store will open its doors, just in time for summer.

Founder Pooja Bavishi began selling scoops inspired by her experience as a first-generation Indian-American in 2015 at fairs and markets. It opened its flagship store in Brooklyn in 2019 and now ships pints to cities across the country, including Washington DC. “Making ice cream is a way for me to celebrate my hybrid lifestyle,” says Bavishi. “There’s no more Americana than ice cream, and combining it with ingredients that were ubiquitous in my childhood is truly special.”

The new DC location replaces Ice Cream Jubilee just off the 14th Street Corridor and is within a block radius of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. For Bavishi, the decision to open in Washington, D.C., was partly a personal decision — she lived here for a few years after graduating from college — but it also seemed like a “natural next step” for the company: “The scene Culinary here is so diverse and thriving. I know people here will enjoy these flavors.

The DC Scoop store features indoor and outdoor seating and a salmon-hued exterior. Inside, you’ll find a dozen dairy and non-dairy ice creams, from red chili chocolate to cilantro to passion fruit. Most flavors are replaced every couple of months, but one fan favorite is always available: Cinnamon Toasted Almond Rose.

A single scoop costs $6, or you can get a trio of flavors for $9. Add toppings like pieces of cocoa seed and cardamom shortbread or crunchy peanut chikki (a traditional Indian brittle) for a dollar more. Alongside the scoops, Customers can grab ice cream cakes ($54), ice cream sandos ($6) and creamy kulfi popsicles ($6). Malai also serves $6 soft-serve cups (they’re currently swirling with pistachio and saffron.) A wider selection of to-go pint flavors will be available in-store and at local grocery stores in the coming weeks.

To celebrate the opening weekend, Malai is also launching the DC-exclusive Cherry Black Cardamom flavor. Bavishi says the smokiness of black cardamom brings out the sweetness of DC’s official fruit.

It’s not the only DC-adjacent pint in Malai’s lineup: On Inauguration Day 2021, the shop honored Vice President Kamala Harris by adding the “Madam Vice President” flavor to its menu. Its fusion of mango and coconut flavors nods to Harris’ Caribbean and Oriental roots, and the candied lotus seed blends are a play on her name (“Kamala” translates to lotus in Sanskrit) . “Seeing a woman in power who grew up with an Indian mother and celebrating the same holidays as me was just very inspiring to me,” Bavishi says. The Veep-inspired treat isn’t available for consumption at the moment, but you can grab a pint to go from the store’s freezers.

“I have always sought to change the way ice cream is perceived in this country. It shouldn’t seem unusual to walk into an ice cream shop and not see a chocolate or cream cookie,” she says. “Here, we’re not just taking Indian flavors and copying them, but we’re creating entirely new flavors that highlight these South Asian ingredients.”

To celebrate Malai’s opening on May 18 at noon, they’ll be serving $3 Single Spoons all day, and the first 50 customers to visit will receive a free Malai tote bag.

Open from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; from noon to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.