All-vegetable base poke bowls at Salering, a Seocho salad spot

Wait, why am I not losing weight at all?

I've been so busy lately, running around with no time to breathe, so I'm basically forced into intermittent fasting — but then I go home and eat a ton of snacks anyway? So I just end up being a tired person who's hungry for long stretches and still doesn't lose any weight.

Haven't seen Hwang in a while, so we met at Gyodae, which is perfectly equidistant between Express Bus Terminal and Gangnam.

First visit to Salering, a salad and poke spot near Gyodae Station

Salering Gyodae Direct Store is a poke and salad place on the first floor of a building on Seochodae-ro 56-gil. I've seen Saladdy plenty of times, but this was my first time seeing Salering.

Ooh, the menu is so varied. I loved that you could switch the base to rice, vegetables, or pasta. I'm someone who doesn't really understand poke, so I just switched to a vegetable base.

Ordered through the kiosk!!

Real Salmon Bibim Poke with an all-vegetable base and gochujang mayo

What I picked was Salering Gyodae's Real Salmon Bibim Poke Salad. I customized it with 50g of raw salmon, an all-vegetable base, and gochujang mayo dressing.

The gochujang mayo wasn't spicy, and I'd ordered it imagining something like a sriracha flying fish roe salmon bibim, and it was actually pretty close!! The salmon was so generous for a salad place, ugh, I felt like I'd become rich. Aww, it was so good 🐟

The vegetables were fresh and nice too, and best of all there were those dried onion things — those crispy onion crumbs — I love those so much!! There was a ton of them in there, which made me happy 🧅

How was the Smoked Duck Poke with rice?

🦆 The smoked duck poke had such a harmonious balance of fresh vegetables, meat, and rice that I enjoyed every single bite without getting tired of it.

🥗 The savory smoked duck flavor paired perfectly with the poke sauce too, so anyone who likes poke would find this a familiar, delicious flavor that's easy to love! The duck was so tasty that I greedily wished they'd given a few more pieces, but the ingredients were so fresh and plentiful that I still polished off the whole bowl.

🍄 Mushroom lovers would be really satisfied with this, and it's the perfect spot for a filling yet healthy meal!

The portion was really generous for a salad!! Even with just the vegetable base, I was full.

Salering's interior and solo-dining extras: phone stands and pre-payment

The interior of Salering Gyodae was totally clean, and the lighting looked like vegetables — really unique. So cute.

This seems like a great place to come eat alone for lunch!! There's a phone stand and pre-payment is possible, so it's the total office-worker lunch route! 🥗

After the last bite: full but still light

Ah, it was so good that I scraped it clean to the very bottom... ✨🥄 The flavor was so addictive I couldn't stop spooning it up, ate every last bit neatly, and it was so, so satisfying.

After finishing a whole bowl of salad, my stomach felt comfortable yet nicely full — anyone know that feeling?? So good...💚

And does anyone else know why filling up on salad feels so good?? 🧐💡 It's absolutely nothing like that particular bloated, unpleasant fullness that comes after eating a ton of flour or greasy food!! 🙅❌

It's just that 'refreshingly full' feeling where your whole body feels lighter, seriously! 🍃✨ After eating, taking a slow stroll around the neighborhood leaves you with just the good kind of fullness, so when I get home and dive onto the bed, there's zero guilt and it feels so good. Hehe 🛌💤

Salering in the evening: poke with beer or wine

It's great for a light, clean lunch on a busy afternoon, but!! Do you know what other real charm point I discovered?! 👀✨ It's that you can also pair it with a cold beer or a nice glass of wine in the evening!! 🥂

Taking smart care of my body with salad, and then shaking off the day's stress with a cold drink — this perfect balance... I absolutely can't resist! ⚖️💖 A refreshing salad as a side instead of greasy late-night snacks? Doesn't weigh on the stomach at all and feels so clean, truly the best combo!! Highly, highly recommend this as tonight's healing combo... 🍺🍷🥗

Salering Gyodae Direct Store menu list

• 🦆 Grilled Duck Bibim Poke
• 🐟 Real Salmon Bibim Poke
• 🥩 Ribeye Steak Bibim Poke
• 🍗 Ranch Sour Chicken Breast Wrap
• 🐓 Grilled Chicken Bibim Poke
• 🫘 Fried Tofu Bibim Poke
• 🫛 Soy Meat Bibim Poke
• 🥓 Beef Brisket Bibim Poke
• 🔥 Grilled Bulgogi Bibim Poke
• 🦐 Shrimp & Scallop Bibim Poke
• 💪🏻 Healthy All-in-One Bibim Poke
• 🌊 Seafood All-in-One Bibim Poke
• 🍖 Meat All-in-One Bibim Poke
• 🌶️ Pepper Bulgogi Sandwich
• 🌮 Taco Chicken Sandwich

There are even more menu options besides these, so I think it'd be fun to pre-pay and go on a menu-conquering streak. My intent to revisit is really high — I really want to go again.