Kakching's main market — locally divided into the Main Market and the Super Market — is one of the liveliest in southeastern Manipur and worth wandering for an hour even if you are not buying anything. The stalls move between agricultural produce, textiles, handicrafts, and electronics, much of it imported from Myanmar across the nearby border.
Two things in particular are worth picking up. Soibum is fermented bamboo shoot, a staple ingredient of Manipuri cooking with a pungent, distinctive flavour; you can buy it fresh or dried. Chakkrup are woven bamboo covers traditionally used to keep cooked food warm — flat, elegant, and very portable. The garment section, filled with Myanmar imports, is also worth a look: prices are considerably lower than you would find in Imphal.