Low-carb high-fat dinner takeout for a couple: Why Starve Diet

Lately I feel like eating a heavy dinner affects how I feel the next day, so I was looking for a good Gongdeok salad restaurant for a lighter dinner option and came across Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch, so I decided to visit!

Basic info on Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch

The address is 109 Mapo-daero, B131, B1F Lotte Castle President, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

• Hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–22:00 (last order 21:30)
• Sat–Sun 10:00–20:30 (break time 15:00–16:00, last order 20:00) — break time is only on weekends
• Parking available
• Getting there: 2-minute walk from Exit 2, Gongdeok Station

If you're parking, make sure to use the [commercial building parking lot], not the Lotte Castle apartment/hotel lot, to get the parking discount! I'd recommend setting your navigation to Lotte Premium Food Market Gongdeok.

It's close to Exit 2 of Gongdeok Station so it's easy to get to, and parking's available too~ Since it's open until 10pm, it also felt easy to swing by for a late takeout run.

Inside the restaurant and the solo-dining zone

The interior was clean overall. There's a solo-dining zone, so it seems like it'd be great for people eating alone too!

How do you choose from the menu?

At Why Starve Diet, you can pick your main protein from chicken, beef, duck, or salmon, and within that, choose the format: salad, poke, or pasta.

I thought the options would be limited since it's a diet menu, but there were way more combinations than expected, so it seemed like even someone who visits often like me wouldn't get tired of it.

7 sauce options

There were 7 sauces ready to go: wasabi mayo, teriyaki, spicy teriyaki, sriracha mayo, honey mustard, oriental, and yuzu dressing. If it's hard to pick, the staff will recommend one, so it seemed easy even for first-time visitors.

I got mine packed to eat with my husband after he got off work! The packaging was pretty and thorough, haha.

What we packed for dinner

I packed two menu items to eat together with my husband.

• Beef Light Protein Box (salad) ₩12,900
• Teriyaki sauce (staff recommendation)

Wow, look at those hearty chunks of meat!

• Chicken Light Protein Box (salad) ₩8,900
• Oriental sauce

I was debating which sauce to pick — for the beef menu, the staff recommended teriyaki sauce so I went with that, and for the chicken I chose the oriental sauce!

Why I went with low-carb high-fat

The two menu items we picked were low-carb high-fat combinations, but Why Starve Diet also has a good range of menus balanced across carbs, protein, and fat, not just low-carb high-fat.

Being able to choose your menu depending on your diet direction stood out to me, even among other Gongdeok salad restaurants. This time we started light with the Light Protein Box, but now I want to try other diet menu combinations next time.

Notes from eating it as takeout dinner

We didn't eat at the restaurant — we took it home instead, and the packaging was so thorough that there was no real hassle during the trip.

The sauce wrapping was done so carefully too, which I loved. Usually with delivery or takeout, sauce tends to spill, but the attention to detail with the sauce packaging was great!

Salad prices have gotten pretty steep these days so it felt like it could be a burden, but—

the beef menu was ₩12,900 and the chicken menu was ₩8,900 — even combined, it wasn't a big burden. It felt easy to bring home as a diet dinner without worrying too much about cost.

I picked it up for dinner, but since the hours run from midday, it seems like it'd also be a great lunchtime spot for office workers who are dieting.

Who I'd recommend this to

• Office workers dieting who want a light lunch or dinner
• Anyone who wants to take diet meals home to eat
• Anyone looking for a good spot to eat solo
• Anyone looking for low-carb high-fat menus
• Anyone searching for a good Gongdeok salad restaurant

Overall verdict

I found Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch while searching for a good Gongdeok salad restaurant, and what I liked most was being able to choose your menu according to your diet direction, from low-carb high-fat to balanced macros. The takeout was packed so carefully that it worked well for dinner, for eating alone, or for eating comfortably at home.

This time we started light with the Beef Light Protein Box and Chicken Light Protein Box, but now I want to try other sauces or the more carb-protein-fat-packed menus next time. If you're an office worker who's dieting, this place near Gongdeok Station is worth keeping in mind.