Food:
Tamil Nadu is known for its hospitality and traditional food. People in the state are of the belief that serving food to others is a service to mankind. This fortifies the fact that your eating experience in the city will definitely be an unforgettable one. Specifically talking about the cuisine of Chennai, the city offers a wide variety in terms of different types of dishes. The delectable South Indian savories are truly a treat for the foodies. There is a plethora of items for both vegetarians as well as non vegetarians.
This can be made out from the number of restaurants and eating places in Madras. The staple diet of the people of Chennai is rice, which is served with other supplementary food items. The regular South Indian meal, which comprises of steamed rice along with a variety of vegetable dishes like sambar, dry curry, rasam and kootu, is served on a banana leaf. At times, it is also accompanied by crisp appalams. This is followed by a round of rice and curd or buttermilk or both. Finally, the meal concludes with a small banana and a few betel leaves and nuts.
For non vegetarians, the platter consists of rice, along with curries or dishes cooked with mutton, chicken or fish. The breakfast and evening snacks mainly include idli (steamed rice cakes), dosa (pancake made from batter of rice) and lentils crisp fried on a pan, vada (deep fried doughnuts made from a batter of lentils), pongal (rice and lentils boiled together, seasoned with ghee, cashew nuts, pepper and cumin seed) and uppuma (cooked semolina seasoned in oil with mustard, pepper, cumin seed and dry lentils.).
All the above dishes are served with coconut chutney, sambar (seasoned lentil broth) and mulaga podi (powdered mix of several dried lentils eaten with oil). Apart from this, coffee is a must for all the South Indians. Nothing can match the rich taste and aroma of a Tamilian Filter coffee. The coffee beans are Arabic in origin, which are roasted and then powdered to achieve the right taste. A bit of chicory is also added to enhance the aroma. It is then put in a filter set, along with hot water, to prepare a dark liquid called decoction. A portion of this is mixed with milk and sugar to get the perfect coffee.

Culture:
Chennai is the known as the doorway to South India. This verifies the rich cultural heritage it boasts of. Having a cosmopolitan attribute, it is the mirror of all the diverse cultures, which are nourishing within its boundaries. But the beauty of it is that all the people reside in complete harmony with each other. During festival time, Chennai is swept by the waves of celebration and joy. People practice all the religious ceremonies and rites with utmost devotion. The glorious pat of the city shines by the means of monuments of the yore located here. Apart from this, Madras also preserves the traditional art forms of the past and still practices them in order to keep the tradition alive. This explains the spirit of Chennai, which by all means is a significant part of the Indian Heritage.

Language:
Chennai is one of the fourth metropolitan cities of India and is also the capital of Tamil Nadu. This has brought many people to the city, from the all the corners of the nation. This influx can be attributed to the cosmopolitan character of the city which has given rise to a number of different languages being spoken. However, English is most widely spoken and is also preferred as the official language in Chennai. But, the major as well as the primary language of Chennai is Tamil.
Tamil is also the mother tongue of the region and is majorly spoken by the native people. Tamil language is an amalgamation of Tamil and English and also contains some words from Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi-Urdu. The people of Chennai are greatly in love with their mother tongue and prefer speaking the same. Tamil has accommodated words, grammar and suffixes from varied languages to invent new words.
However, the most profound influence seems to be that of English, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Telugu, Urdu, and Kannada. Besides, there is a notable Telugu-speaking minority in Chennai. Other languages spoken in the city are Malayalam, and Urdu. Chennai also houses a significant number of Marwari traders, Anglo Indian, Bengali, Punjabi and people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who speak the respective languages of their regions.

Foreign Embassies:
Chennai is one of the four major metropolitan cities of India. Therefore, a number of foreign embassies and consulates are situated here. These embassies and consulates take care of different issues and have a set of duties to carry out. Some of the major functions of these deputations include issuing Visa, conducting language test and exams, maintaining cordial relations with other countries, promoting co operation between countries, enhancing trade and culture practices, protecting their citizens in other countries, etc. So, just in case you face any problem during your stay in Madras, you can always contact the embassy or consulate of your country for help. Given below is the list of various foreign embassies and consulates in Chennai.
Embassies and Consulates:
Belgium (Nungambakkam)
Denmark (Gopalapuram)
Finland (Anna Salai)
Germany (Egmore)
Hungary (Parrys)
Iceland (Nungambakkam)
Indonesia (Guindy Indl.Estate)
Italy (Parrys)
Japan (Teynampet)
Korean (Greams Road)
Malaysia (Teynampet)
Mauritius (Nungambakkam)
Norway (Parrys)
Philippines (Guindy Indl.Estate)
Russia (Mylapore)
Singapore (T.Nagar)
Spain (Santhome)
Srilanka (Teynampet)
Sweden (Gopalapuram)
Switzerland (Alwarpet)
United Kingdom (Anna Salai)
United States Of America (Anna Salai)
Chile (R A Puram)
Czech (T. Nagar)
Greece (Chetpet HO)
Netherlands (Parrys)
Newzealand (Gopalapuram)
Serbio & Mondenegro (Nandanam)
Turkemenistan (T. Nagar)
Turkey (Parrys)