When you're talking about food and cooking in Mandarin, there are some important points to keep in mind. These tips will help you describe what you like to eat and how different dishes are made.

1. Measure Words (量词):

• For rice, you say: 一碗米饭 (yī wǎn mǐ fàn), which means "a bowl of rice."
• For chicken, you say: 一只鸡 (yī zhī jī), which means "a whole chicken."

2. Simple Sentences:

• You can say: 我喜欢吃炸鸡，因为它很美味。
  (Wǒ xǐ huān chī zhá jī, yīn wèi tā hěn měi wèi.)
  This means, "I like to eat fried chicken because it’s delicious."

• Another example could be:
  虽然我爱吃甜点，但我要控制自己的饮食。
  (Suī rán wǒ ài chī tián diǎn, dàn wǒ yào kòng zhì zì jǐ de yín shí.)
  This means, "Even though I love desserts, I need to watch what I eat."

3. Passive Voice (被字句):

• You can say: 这道菜被厨师精心制作。
  (Zhè dào cài bèi chú shī jīng xīn zhì zuò.)
  This means, "This dish was carefully made by the chef."

4. Aspectual Markers (了, 过, 在):

• To say you have tried something, you could say: 我吃过北京烤鸭。
  (Wǒ chī guò Běijīng kǎoyā.)
  This means, "I have eaten Peking duck."

• If someone is cooking, you can say: 他正在做饭。
  (Tā zhèng zài zuò fàn.)
  This means, "He is cooking."

5. Conditional Sentences:

• If you want to suggest trying something, you can say: 如果你喜欢辣的，你可以尝尝这个。
  (Rú guǒ nǐ xǐ huān là de, nǐ kě yǐ cháng cháng zhè ge.)
  This means, "If you like spicy food, you can try this."

Use these tips to talk about your food experiences and share what you enjoy eating!