Café culture, ice cream queues, and a thrilling IPL finale

Our social media feeds this week were filled with pretty pictures of people, coffee, and aesthetically plated dishes. With Chennai fully embracing the café culture, there’s no dearth of places to go, offering every type of brew imaginable.

Right around the corner from my house, Sortd opened its doors, adding the element of working spaces as well. Almost as if to prove a point, I was enjoying my mocha and brownie in a rather relaxed manner, but was surrounded by Gen Z, all typing away on their laptops. That didn’t deter me. I also ordered myself a cruffin and then took pictures at the many Instagrammable spots.

The other exciting new spot on the city’s café and hangout landscape was the opening of Bask on ECR, drawing huge crowds from the moment they opened their doors. Their legion of loyal patrons was more than happy to have their signature space now on their side of town. We saw lots of popular city faces. The highlights for them? The high ceilings, open-air spaces, and all the favourites on the menu.

Another buzzing spot in the city this week was Khadar Nawaz Khan Road, with Naturals Ice Cream opening its doors. A beloved name synonymous with handcrafted, fruit-based ice creams for nearly four decades saw crowds of all ages lining up for a scoop. And there’s nothing like a long queue to make you want it more. It was a tough choice to pick a favourite, but it seemed like all the summer specialities—like kala jamun, lychee, and mango—came out on top.

And bringing the summer cricket madness to an end, and creating a truly memorable IPL final, was the Royal Challengers Bengaluru versus the Punjab Kings. A nail-biting last couple of overs ended in an emotional victory. The iconic slogan Ee sala cup namdu has flooded all our social media timelines, along with loads of humorous memes and slogans, as Bengaluru celebrates in full swing.

A fitting end to the season. Cheers to the winners!