Diet poke before beach season near COEX: steak and avocado, Ola Poke

As always, I've been working out steadily, but I haven't managed my diet, so I ended up bulking up 😅 The weather is getting hotter, and with my line of work I end up going to the beach a lot this season, so I figured I should look after my body a bit. But I really can't starve myself or eat bland diet food, haha. So I looked for something low in calories, healthy and still delicious, and that led me to Ola Poke Samseong Branch, a well-known salad and poke spot near COEX.

Ola Poke Samseong Branch location and opening hours

Ola Poke Samseong Branch is about a 4-minute walk from Samseong Station Exit 3. It's near COEX, so it's handy for a meal after shopping or an exhibition, and with so many offices nearby, lots of office workers come in. For people who sit all day, a tasty, easy-to-digest food like poke is probably popular, haha.

• Mon–Fri 10:30–20:30
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• Last order 20:20
• Closed Saturdays and Sundays

Delivery and takeout are also available, so it's great for a quick bite too.

Ola Poke Samseong Branch atmosphere: is it okay to eat alone?

This is the exterior of Ola Poke Samseong Branch. It's on the small side but feels cozy. There are even outdoor seats. It was so hot and humid the day I went that I ate inside, but on a cooler day, eating poke outside in the sunshine would feel really nice, haha.

The inside is tidy and clean overall. There's a bar table for people dining alone, so eating solo was no burden at all. Quite a few people were eating alone, so I could relax without feeling awkward ☺️ There are also regular tables for several people, so it looks good for lunch with friends or coworkers too!

Water and utensils are set out right next to the cash register. After poke, your mouth can feel a bit funky from the sauce, but there are toothpicks and mouthwash, so you can freshen up after your meal!

What's on the Ola Poke menu?

As a poke specialist, Ola Poke Samseong Branch has a really wide range of poke. There are seafood bowls with salmon, tuna or shrimp, bowls with steak or chicken breast, and even bowls with avocado or fried tofu that vegans can eat. With such variety, you could visit often and swap toppings without getting bored. I ordered the steak poke, which covers both protein and carbs ☺️

How to order at Ola Poke: from base to toppings

1. Choose your base

The bases are salad, oat brown rice and buckwheat noodles, and you can adjust the ratio of salad to oat brown rice. I wanted a moderate amount of both vegetables and rice, so I went with 3 parts vegetables, 7 parts oat brown rice!

2. Choose your base sauce

Next you pick a sauce to mix into the base, and they're all soy sauce based. If you don't like sauce, you can skip it! I went with the recommended soy sauce.

3. Choose your topping sauce

You also choose a sauce to drizzle over the toppings. The options are wasabi mayo, sriracha mayo, chili garlic sauce, teriyaki sauce, truffle mayo, buldak (fire chicken) sauce and black sesame sauce. There were so many that I couldn't decide, so I went with the recommended one! For the steak poke, the recommendation was wasabi mayo.

4. Remove or add toppings freely

You can also remove or add toppings. It's nice that you can leave out anything you can't eat. I don't have anything I avoid, so I didn't remove any, but there was avocado, which I love, so I added extra avocado! 🥑

Ola Poke Samseong Branch gives a free Pepsi Zero for a receipt review, so write your review and take a cold cola with you 👍

How does the steak poke taste? Is it okay as a diet meal?

Ta-da, here's the Ola Poke steak poke I ordered. It's piled with lean meat, plus a heap of tasty vegetable toppings like pineapple, lentils, chickpeas and seaweed. It looks fresh and delicious just to look at 🤤

I drizzled the light green wasabi mayo over the toppings, and the poke was officially ready!

I worried that a lean cut might be tough, but it wasn't tough at all and was really tasty. The vegetables were all fresh and delicious, and the oat brown rice made it filling, so it was a tasty poke without much calorie worry 👍

I recommend adding avocado to the steak poke

If you order the steak poke at Ola Poke, definitely add avocado! Maybe they ripen their avocados well, because it had none of that gritty, grassy taste of unripe avocado. It was completely soft and buttery 🫶 A rich topping that went so well with the steak 💕 Flavor, fullness and nutrition all in one, it was a perfect lunch 👍

Ola Poke Samseong Branch: final thoughts

With a comfortable atmosphere that's fine for eating alone, fresh vegetables and tasty toppings, I had a delicious diet meal 🐷 I ate, but somehow feel like I lost weight...?! Hahaha. If you're looking for a healthy, tasty diet meal near Samseong Station or COEX, I recommend Ola Poke Samseong Branch.