Learn English – to throw up vs to vomit vs to puke

The rule of thumb that I would recommend is, if you consume it by:

• using a utensil (fork, spoon, chopsticks, etc.): then you eat it.
• pouring it from a container into your mouth: then you drink it.
• sucking it up through a straw: then you drink it.

Normally, soup would fall into the first category (using a spoon), so I would tend to say "eat your soup". (However, when you pick up the bowl and pour the last ounce or two of liquid straight into your mouth, I would tend to say that you are "drinking the last drops from the bowl".

The actual difference between eating something and drinking something is that when you eat, you get some quantity of the item in your mouth, you (optionally, but recommended!) chew it, and then you swallow once. When you drink, you have a continuous supply of the item entering your mouth, and you swallow at least once (but usually more), without ever chewing. So it is entirely possible, as you note, to choose between eating your broth and drinking it.

The upshot is, if you are serving this local food with a spoon, you can safely refer to eating it.

It's also worth noting that you can avoid the entire eat/drink issue by using the generic word have, in its sense of "partake / consume":

Have a bowl of soup for lunch!

I had fried chicken for dinner last night.

In a formal professional setting, it can be better not to discuss another person's appearance. Some people take compliments better than others and some will read more into it than you mean regardless of what you say.

Complimenting appearance is generally (arguably) more commonly done by women to other women or (less frequently) men. There are times where a male may compliment a female, particularly likely at a special event or out-of-work meeting where their dress is considerably different from their usual appearance. Note that this is a generalization and does not necessarily apply to all people.

If you feel it necessary, I think that the most gender non-specific way of telling someone they look good that won't have any issues with impropriety is to say:

You look nice.

This can seem a bit vague but it can still be very effective if you make it specific to the person you're addressing and how you say it will make it seem sincere.

You can add a bit to it to make it less terse,

You look very nice tonight.

It can also be followed by a specific thing you think they've done well:

You look nice. I really like your dress/suit.

You look nice. That color really suits you.

You could also go this route but be careful to use only if it's really obvious they've made a change to their look:

You look nice. Did you get a new hair cut/glasses?

In general, people like getting affirmation that their new look suits them as they can be a little unsure.

This can all go out the window the second you become friendly with your coworkers/boss and your gender in relation to theirs can greatly affect what's appropriate.