Post-run lunch at a Chungju salad and poke restaurant: Salad Ring

A Chungju Terminal salad spot after a Jungangtap run

After running at Jungangtap in the morning, I was really hungry. I'd had late-night food the day before, so I wanted to do fasted cardio, and it had been a while since I'd gone for a run.

After working out, I didn't just want something light — I wanted a healthy, filling meal with protein, so I looked up good salad restaurants.

That's when I found Salad Ring, Chungju Terminal Branch right in front of Chungju Terminal, and went with a friend. I'd noticed it before while passing by — the green sign looked fresh and made me curious. So I'd wanted to try it.

Where do you park at Salad Ring, Chungju Terminal Branch?

Salad Ring, Chungju Terminal Branch sits right in front of the terminal, so the area can get busy, but if you use the right parking, it turned out to be more convenient than expected — and a good spot to head to after working out.

There's underground parking in the building, which is so convenient. There are a lot of hospitals around and it's a busy area, so I was nervous there'd be no spots — but we went just after noon post-workout and there was plenty of parking space.

It's free for 1 hour. We went over, so we paid ₩500.

What we ordered at Salad Ring that day

My friend and I ordered two menu items together. There were so many options it was hard to choose, but I wanted something with fresh salmon, so I went with salmon, and my friend wanted steak!! She said she wanted meat, so she got the grilled steak — seemed like a new menu item. It also had protein in it, so it actually took us a while to decide on the two dishes.

🥗 Real raw salmon bibim poke

The real raw salmon bibim poke keeps the nutty, tender flavor of raw salmon intact in the topping, paired with about 15 vegetables and superfoods.

With salmon in it, it was a good choice when I wanted to get protein in after working out, and I liked that with so many different vegetables, I could eat a variety of ingredients in one bowl.

🍚 Grilled steak protein rice bowl

The grilled steak protein rice bowl combines 130g of grilled pork neck, brown rice, and mixed vegetables with Salad Ring's signature sauce. It's a bit of a letdown to eat just salad, so this was a good choice for a day I wanted a hearty, filling meal.

With grilled pork neck in it especially, it matched exactly what I wanted that day — protein after a workout.

Choosing your own sauce at Salad Ring

One thing I personally liked about Salad Ring is that you get to choose your sauce. The first time, when they asked me to pick a sauce, I didn't know what they meant, but after a few visits I think I'll get better at picking sauces that suit my taste. Even the same salad or poke tastes different depending on which sauce you pair it with.

Being able to choose a sauce to your taste means you can eat lighter on some days or go for more flavor on others, matching your mood each time.

When you want a salad after a workout

I work out often — swimming, running — and after exercise I prefer a meal with both protein and vegetables rather than just carbs. That day too, after finishing my Jungangtap run, I was very hungry, and if I'd eaten just salad, it would have felt a bit lacking.

At first I wondered if all those vegetables would really be filling, but after eating, I was genuinely full. We scraped the bowls completely clean.

Eating after exercise is basically zero calories, that's my theory hahaha. Looking back, we really did scrape it all up. That's how good it was — the vegetables too. Eaten with the sauce, even the veggies were delicious~

The healthy but filling meal I was after

Since we went as two and ordered different dishes to share, it was great being able to try both menu items.

A place I'd love to come back to after another workout. Healthy and delicious, both boxes checked — a satisfying, filling meal^^