Make mine authentic

SUMMER holiday gets everybody home to delicious meals prepared by mom. See what expressions you can use to describe the taste of food.

1. Just thinking of all that yummy food makes my mouth water. 光想到那些可口的食物我就会口水直流。

We have quite a few words to describe food that tastes especially good: tasty, yummy, scrumptious, mouth-watering, toothsome, luscious, delectable, savory, marvelous. (Note: tasty is mild and common; yummy, scrumptious, mouth-watering, and toothsome are all colloquial; luscious, delectable and savory are more educated; marvelous is educated speech)

2. The fish hotpot here is not authentic Sichuan cuisine. 这儿的水煮鱼不是正宗的四川菜。

Although it tastes all right, it's slightly different from the authentic or typical flavor.

3. The bread tastes like cardboard. 这种面包吃起来味同嚼蜡。

Last month there was a fake news report in Beijing about buns with cardboard stuffing (馅). But, "taste like cardboard" is a common expression in English to describe tasteless or not-very-good-tasting food.

4. Take those gross noodles away! 把那些恶心的面条端开！

For food that tastes not so good, we have other expressions like "an unsavory meal" (一顿难吃的饭) and "disgusting, gross, and nauseating food". (Note: "unsavory" (难吃的) is very polite English; "disgusting" (令人厌恶的) is harsh but commonly-used; "gross" is very popular teen speech; "nauseating" (令人作呕的) is a very strong word.)

5. The food in our dining hall is the pits! 我们食堂的东西难吃极了。

Here, "pits" is an adjective very popular with teens and 20-somethings, meaning "the worst". For example, "That apartment the company gave me to live in is the pits, no bathroom, a tiny kitchen, and no air conditioner." (公司提供的公寓糟糕透了，没有洗手间，厨房只有巴掌大，还没有空调。)