Local foods to try in Chennai

1. Filter Coffee

Melbournians might assume that they are the world's ultimate coffee snobs, but they probably havenhaven't't met Chennai's filter coffee snobs who obsess with every ingredients that goes into making the brew that fuels the city.

2. Mulligatawny Soup

Madras is where the British empire in India took wings and the British influence on the city foodscape is still evident in the city's 19th century gentleman's clubs. The British didn't just reinvent the  South Indian rasam but also borrowed the Tamil word - milagu thani(pepper water) and anglicised it. This soup combines traditional ingredients like grated coconut with British tweaks like apple, carrot and chicken, and is usually served with a few morsels of rice. You can still find an authentic version at clubs like Gymkhana and Madras Club.

3. Sundal

The Marina beach - one of the world'slongest urban beaches, is almost an integral part of the city's identity. It's also the best place to sample sundal - usually boiled white channa (it's common to find black channa and green peas versions too) tossed with mustard seeds, grated coconut, raw mango and curry leaves. The sundal is also a traditional snack served during the 10 days of Dusherra and an equally popular barsnack in some of the city's clubs and bars.

4. Nethili Fry

Chennai'sfishing community can claim to be one of the city's earliest inhabitants. The city is a treasure trove for seafood with fresh catch of the day easily available for homes and restaurants .

5. Masala Dosai

It was Udupi restaurateurs like Dasaprakash and Woodlands who probably brought this dish to Chennai.You can try their ghee soaked, crispyversion in restaurants like Krishna (Woodlands) or Mathsya or have an improvised Chennai version - the 'caloricious' GheeMasala Roast at Saravana Bhavan, which is a meal in itself. Some restaurants also serve the Mysore Masala Dosa slathered with the trademark paste.

6. Murrukku Sandwich

The Sowcarpet area has been home to the city's Marwari community for decades and spawned a unique foodculture. While this is easily Chennai's best neighbourhood for chaats, it's also home to one of the city's most innovative street-food dishes. This snack takes the Bombay-style sandwichand compresses it into a bite-sized dish- the bread slices make way for murukkus (chaklis); it's crunchy and finger-licking good food.

7. Mysore Pak

Chennai sells way more Mysore Pak than Mysuru; it's the one thing most people will ask you to carry back from the city. This melt-in-your-mouth sweetis crafted with just three ingredients - sugar, ghee and Bengal gram.

8 .Full Meals

No visit to Chennai is complete without rolling your sleeves and going the whole hog (literally) with a larger than life banana leaf meal. There's the all-vegetarian version - you could try the traditional Tamil Nadu meals or Andhra Meals or even a Kerala Sadhya.

9.Atho

Chennai's Burmese connection - a large number of Tamils left Burma in the early 1960s, is most evident in North Chennaiwhere quite a few hole-in-the-wall establishments (there's even one that calls itself Atho Shop) serve delicious Burmese street food. This includes the fiery Atho - fried noodles tossed with cabbage,onion and tamarind juice. If you can't make the trek to Burma Colony, there's Ma Tint Tint in the heart of the city.