How did I find it? No it wasn’t ‘by chance’ on insta, or Facebook. Here’s the story… On one of our lunch hour meetings V and I decided to crash at a nearby café or restaurant for a quick bite. It was his find actually. On his way back from work, he would notice a tiny little place on the first floor of Hotel Kombirei, on Rims Road. What Timber did to me, I guess this little café did to him! And I couldn’t be gladder that we stepped into that café on a day when the weather was perfect. Dark clouds, a cool breeze spell perfect weather for me. So we climbed the stairs to what would soon become the stairway to “the most delicious comfort food’ heaven! Welcome to Steaming Mug! The décor is rustic with its blue-grey walls adorned with posters that prepare your mood. Planters are aplenty around the two floors which for a lover of greens is a delight. The seating is casual with a blend of wood and our ‘Phak (a kind of mat made of reed) cushions’ ( Kauna Phak) ) for added comfort. The...
I’m a sucker for cozy nooks and corners. When I Was settling into the new Imphal, I was scouting for a café that would be my go to place to unwind, satiate my curious and adventurous palate with good company thrown in just to not look odd. I said ‘new’ Imphal because it was a reformed, refurbished version of the city I knew. Everything looked the same yet, there was a difference. One of them being the numerous array of restaurants and cafes that have opened here and continue to do so. Each with a unique offering, and with ambience that is definitely exciting to the lovers of exotic dining spaces and options. So there were two places that caught my attention in the very beginning, Books and Coffee which is located at Singjamei which later became a favorite haunt for me and a place for ‘meet up’ because of its proximity to where I live as well as other reasons which I will cover later. The other place being Timber, which is further away at Dewlahland yet it was the first café t...