Terrace poke restaurant near COEX: veggie-base avocado bowl, Ola Poke

Ola Poke Samseong Branch: an outdoor terrace spot by COEX and Trade Center Hyundai

There's a wonderful spot near Samseong Station, COEX and the Trade Center Hyundai Department Store where you can customize your own salad with toppings and eat it out on an outdoor terrace. Here's a record of a healthy, delicious meal on a beautiful autumn day.

I jog twice a week and my calves just won't loosen up with a foam roller no matter what, so I went for a massage at COEX. Coming out of the massage, hunger hit hard. While thinking about lunch, I headed straight to a salad restaurant with a terrace~~~~~~

Organic, vegan-friendly salad bowls on the terrace

Ola Poke Samseong Branch was pretty crowded since it was a weekday lunch, but there's a bar table for solo diners and small tables for two, so you can eat without feeling awkward. Outside there are terrace tables where you can soak up the sun while you eat — basically photosynthesizing your lunch.

My order at Ola Poke: avocado poke on a vegetable-only base

I'm an avocado lover, so I went with the avocado poke, which comes with half an avocado, as my base, and chose an all-vegetable base instead of rice. On top of that I added +chicken breast topping, +steak topping, +2 egg toppings, and +1 extra vegetable topping. I've been hitting the gym hard lately (and I'm a big eater), so I loaded up on protein haha.

Being able to choose vegetables only is so, so nice. When you want something heartier, you can just raise the rice ratio. Being able to adjust the ratio however you like is a real plus.

Where to eat salad outdoors in Gangnam

A delicious salad under the beautiful autumn sunshine!!!!!! I was genuinely moved.

Avocado, fresh vegetables, egg, chicken breast, and steak — everything I love, all in one bowl.

How filling is the poke bowl with extra protein toppings?

The added steak. It's seasoned nice and salty, so it's delicious even without dressing. There was some tangy seaweed alongside it too, which I really liked. Crunch crunch~~~~~

The extra vegetables come out on a separate plate, so you can actually confirm whether the add-on really happened haha.

The chicken breast is shredded into small pieces, so it's soft instead of dry — I really like that. And the egg yolk is a pretty hard-boiled one~~

It's great that lentils and chickpeas are included as a base too. You get to take in protein from a variety of ingredients.

A modest but fully satisfying lunch.

When is Ola Poke Samseong Branch quiet?

Ola Poke Samseong Branch gets busy at weekday lunchtimes, but on Saturdays, when office workers aren't around, it seems like a really nice time to eat in peace and quiet.