Alameda: Malaya Tea Shoppe

For those who might be interested, Malaya Tea Room (920 Central Ave, Alameda, CA) is a tiny but delightful little tea shoppe with some very tasty British and Malaysian pastries/tea sandwiches!

I am so far behind on posting my reviews on Yelp I may never catch up, LOL, but I regret not posting a review yet for this charming place. But it is very small and VERY labor-intensive - you can tell it is a true “labor of love” for the owner/staff - so they do get criticized on weekends sometimes for being slow.

We appreciated all the care Malaya takes; we are fastidious about proper tea steeping when the tea quality warrants it, and Malaya’s tea deserves the time they give to it!

Also, if you go, don’t be dismayed by “only” two sandwiches being included in the Afternoon Tea (which may have been superseded for December 2022 only, for a special Holiday Menu - website isn’t clear on this). The bread is very good but cut standard thickness, not extra thin as in British tea sandwiches, so each sandwich is cut into 4 fingers. So 2 sandwiches split between 2 diners is one full sandwich each, along with all the included pastries. We ordered the equivalent of 1 additional sandwich and were stuffed!

Reservations AND credit card are required, although they will not charge a fee unless you are a no-show. Parking is street parking but easy on weekdays; can’t tell you re weekends, sorry.

Mayala Tea Room, Alameda (off Webster St.)

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