Double poke before an exhibition at Slow Cali, a Hongdae poke shop

A Hongdae salad lunch before an exhibition at Slow Cali

Hi everyone! I went to see an exhibition in Hongdae recently, and since it was going to take an hour or two, I figured I'd get a bit hungry if I just went straight there. So I decided to grab something simple, healthy, and light beforehand at Slow Cali, a Hongdae salad spot. Lately when I try to eat out, so many menus are greasy and heavy, and sometimes you just crave something clean and healthy — this place is perfect for exactly that.

It's right near Exit 5 of Hongik University Station's airport railway line, so the access is great! The prices are reasonable too, which is probably why so many Hongdae students come here — it's become a real Hongdae salad favorite.

Inside Slow Cali: the space and eating alone

Slow Cali Hongdae Entrance Station Branch has a clean interior, so it's easy to eat there quickly. It works well for groups but also feels totally fine for solo dining. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in nice sunlight, making the space bright and comfortable.

Slow Cali menu and how to order at the kiosk

You order at the kiosk, and the overall menu structure looks like this: poke, salad, bowl, and grill salad, with a variety of protein options — salmon, tuna, octopus, beef, chicken and more — so you can pick based on your preference! When ordering at the kiosk, you can also add extra toppings and freely choose your sauce, so it's fully customizable.

A protein chart for every bowl

This is Slow Cali's protein content chart. If you work out, this table is really handy — serving size, calories, sodium, carbs, sugar, fat, and protein are all laid out neatly!!! It's a great setup for a post-workout meal.

Low-calorie poke bowls for dieters

This is the low-calorie poke lineup for summer prep. There's a chicken breast egg poke, and the lime ponzu octopus poke comes in at only around 200–300 calories, so it's a great option for dieters who still want to eat something filling.

Where the ingredients come from

Here's the origin labeling. People are pretty particular about origin these days — the rice, brown rice, and chicken breast are all domestic (Korean). Aside from the duck, which is from China, everything else is from the US, Spain, and Belgium!

Ah, if you're thinking 'I don't want salad, I just want to focus on protein,' there's the salmon-tuna-octopus poke, which costs about ₩9,500. Pretty good deal, right?

How does the mushroom poke taste? Toppings that never get boring

What I liked about Slow Cali is that it's not just one or two toppings. Moist mushrooms and vegetables, crunchy veggies, and crispy garlic flakes meant the flavor never repeated itself, haha. The sauce wasn't too heavy or intense either, so overall you could really taste the natural flavors of the ingredients. I love mushrooms so I ordered the mushroom poke, and the sauce being light rather than sharp made it delicious, hahaha.

The green beans were tasty too, and there was a generous amount of mushroom, haha. I picked the salad to eat healthy, but it ended up tasting great too, so I'm very satisfied.

The sauce went really well with everything, and the portion was bigger than I expected.

Beef & chicken double poke: enough for meat lovers

This one's the meaty poke. The beef & chicken double poke lets you enjoy beef and chicken at the same time. It's for people who think, 'even if it's a salad, I can't give up meat and flavor.' This one also had a generous amount of protein and tasted great, so it was a total win... I stole a few bites and it was really good, lol!! In Hongdae or Yeonnam-dong, when you're eating out, there's a lot of heavy stuff like meat, pasta, and ramen around — so it was really nice to find a place where you could eat something this light and clean in between.

You might think salads mean small portions, but actually the toppings and protein are packed in generously, so it was much more filling than expected -!!!! Recommended for anyone looking for a good Hongdae salad restaurant.