Wanderlust Creamery

A case that reads like a travel list

The case is the whole argument here, and the board changes often enough that regulars read it before they order. Ube Malted Crunch is the permanent Filipino anchor, purple yam against malted crunch. Sticky Rice Mango arrives in a coconut-milk base, which puts it on the vegan side of the counter while keeping the Southeast Asian dessert intact. Smoky Road takes rocky road and sends it through Vietnamese flavour, and Vietnamese coffee turns up repeatedly in what people rate highest. Japanese Neapolitan sits beside matcha and sakura, Passionfruit Cacao sharpens the fruit-and-chocolate axis, and the wider vocabulary runs to Abuelita, Earl Grey milk chocolate, black sesame cookies and cream, burnt honey hojicha and yuzu creamsicle.

Dense on purpose, and Filipino at the root

Wanderlust Creamery began in August 2015 as a husband-and-wife project from Adrienne Borlongan and Jon-Patrick Lopez, tested at Smorgasburg Los Angeles before the first shop opened in Tarzana. Atwater Village followed in 2017, and the count has since grown to include Venice, Fairfax, Pasadena, Sawtelle Japantown and Irvine.

Borlongan’s food science background is why the texture holds up under that many ideas: all-natural dairy, butterfat kept in balance, and minimal overrun so the scoop stays dense and finishes clean rather than fluffing up with air. Her grandfather worked with Magnolia, the major Philippine ice cream brand, and Lopez came to it from law. The stated premise is that each flavour is a love letter to somewhere visited, imagined or remembered from childhood, which is why the list moves through Filipino, Japanese, Mexican, Vietnamese, European, South American and Southern Californian references without settling. Collaborations have pushed it further, from a White Rabbit milk candy flavour that went round the internet in 2019 to Da Fruity Salad with Bretman Rock in 2023 for Filipino American History Month.

Start with Ube Malted Crunch, then widen the order

Order Ube Malted Crunch first. It is the clearest through-line the shop has, and the malt gives it texture rather than plain sweetness. Add Sticky Rice Mango for the coconut-milk and fruit side, and Smoky Road for a familiar American format rerouted through Vietnam. Japanese Neapolitan shows how a reference gets folded into a recognisable shape, and Passionfruit Cacao closes the set with acid.

The menu is built to make that easy: splits, flights, waffle cones, vegan cones and macaroon options all push you past a single scoop. Seating is limited and the flavours are posted on the wall, so the visit is short by design. Staff will talk you through the board and hand over tastes, which is the fastest way to work out which references land for you.