Mapo salad restaurant with cauliflower rice: Why Starve Diet

Gongdeok is such a familiar neighborhood to me, haha. I used to live nearby, and I went to the Gongdeok Lotte Castle shopping arcade all the time—especially because parking was so easy!

Since I was in Gongdeok for the first time in a while today, I stopped by Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch (와이스타브 다이어트 공덕본점) to pick up a salad.

This is another place I ate at all the time when I lived nearby. Even after so long, it was still neat and perfect for putting together a healthy meal. And it even has the cauliflower rice I love, so of course I was happy! Let me introduce it to anyone looking for a great salad spot in Gongdeok. 🥗

On B1 of Gongdeok Lotte Castle, easy to stop by after parking

Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch is on B1 of the Gongdeok Lotte Castle shopping arcade. I used to come to this building all the time, and the easy parking is just the best, haha.

It can be quietly stressful when you drive over to pick up one salad and then spend ages dealing with parking, but this place is easy to visit. Head down to B1 and the orange exterior really pops!

It catches your eye right away, so it is easy to find. The interior is neat too, and there were more seats than I expected.

I got takeout that day, but it also felt like an easygoing place to come alone and have a quick meal. Ordering is simple at the kiosk.

Chicken Light Protein Boxes, with or without cauliflower rice

My pick today was the Chicken Light Protein Box! I ordered two to get one for my husband too: one version with cauliflower rice, and one without.

The one with cauliflower rice is mine! The one without is my husband’s! We took them home and opened them right away. Ta-da! From the outside, the two look almost the same, right?

They are generously filled with vegetables, chicken, and all sorts of things, so one box makes for quite a filling meal. Even when I eat a salad, I prefer this style with protein and a variety of ingredients over one that is packed with just vegetables and leaves me hungry again quickly. That is why I had been coming to this Gongdeok salad spot from time to time even back then.

Plenty of sauce right to the last bite

The sauce was super generous too, haha. Time to add it!

There was enough sauce that I never ran short before I finished. To stay on track, aren’t you supposed to use only a little sauce…? Haha, I know.

But if it comes with it, I am the type to drizzle it on properly, haha. A salad has to taste good if you are going to keep eating it, after all! Once I added the sauce and mixed everything well, the vegetables did not feel separate from the rest. With the chicken too, it was both tasty and satisfying.

Why I chose the cauliflower rice

And the reason I specifically chose the version with cauliflower! This is cauliflower rice.

If you have never tried it, just hearing the name might make you think, “You eat cauliflower like rice?” Haha. But finely chopped cauliflower is mixed in like grains of rice, so it is really nice mixed with the other ingredients. I seriously love this.ㅠㅠ

First, the texture is much better than you might expect. When you eat only salad, it can sometimes feel like you are just chewing leaves the whole time, but cauliflower rice adds more bite and makes it feel much more like a proper meal. Since it uses cauliflower in place of rice, I also liked it as an option for days when I want to keep my usual meals a little lighter. Best of all, it does not feel like I am forcing myself to eat a healthy menu—I seek it out because it is simply delicious! I will order the one with cauliflower again next time, haha.

A Gongdeok salad I have eaten for years, still satisfying

There are so many salad specialty shops these days, but I think the places you keep returning to are the ones with a good mix of ingredients and a meal that tastes good.

I had eaten at Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch often since I lived near Gongdeok, so it was somehow nice to be back after a long time. It was still neat, and I still liked the menu selection. Especially if, like me, you prefer a hearty mix of chicken and other ingredients to a simple vegetable-only salad, the Protein Box is a solid choice.

Being in the Gongdeok Lotte Castle shopping arcade makes it easy to get to, and with seats inside plus easy takeout, it seems great for an office-worker lunch or a day when you want a light meal! If you are looking for a good Gongdeok salad spot, stop by Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch. Above all, I recommend it for the cauliflower rice! Hahaha. It was just as delicious as I remembered, and I was happy to get chicken, vegetables, and cauliflower rice all together in one satisfying meal. If I wanted a not-too-heavy meal in Gongdeok, I would come here again. 🥗