L'oggetto nella ciotola è un topo che mangia il formaggio

We do not.

Ummm... It's my first culinary experiment! :) Unsuccessful, as it appears...

The English translation is super awkward, as we'd ask, "What's in the bowl?" Does the Italian sentence sound good to a native's ear, or is it also clunky?

'What object is in the bowl' Does this mean the same thing?

Whoops, that's crack. My bad.

If we say 'what is the object in the bowl?' this is a question requiring as an answer e.g. the object in the bowl is an apple. It is then clear that what the object in the bowl is, is an apple, therefore you have told the questioner what the object is, in the bowl.

to me a dish is also a bowl

It's a snake which is cooked by the cook