Beef pasta protein box takeout, wasabi mayo: Why Starve Diet Gongdeok

A diet-friendly restaurant near Gongdeok Station

I've been wanting to get back on a diet, so I visited Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch! When I think about meal management I usually think of poke bowls first, but lately I've been craving pasta-based menus more than poke..

Just eating salad felt like it would leave me hungry too fast, but heavier food felt like too much on a day like this — so this seemed just right.

Location, hours, parking

• 📍 Location: B131, B1F, Lotte Castle President, 109 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: Weekdays 10:00-22:00 (last order 21:30) / Weekends 10:00-20:30 — hours may change, so double-check on Naver Map before you visit!
• 🅿️ Parking: 1 hour free with Lotte Castle mall parking

One thing to really watch out for when parking!! Don't head toward the hotel — go into the parking lot for the Lotte Castle mall / Lotte Mart side instead. Once you come up to the basement level of the building, the store is right there, and it's also connected to Exit 2 of Gongdeok Station, so it's easy to find if you're coming by public transit!

Inside the store & the menu

While waiting I looked around the store — it was so clean!! White tones with a pop of accent color, giving it that bright, fresh feel a salad place should have haha.

It looked like a great spot for office workers near Gongdeok Station to grab a simple lunch. There's bar-style seating for solo diners too, so eating alone wouldn't feel awkward at all! You can dine in or take out, so it's easy to pick whatever suits your situation.

What we ordered and the price

The menu works by picking a main protein — chicken, smoked duck, beef, or salmon — then combining it with a base like light (salad), pasta, oats, tofu noodles, or cauliflower rice. It's not just salad; with pasta and tofu noodles as options too, it seemed like a good place to come back to when you're sick of typical diet food.

I already had my heart set on the beef pasta before walking in, and picked the recommended sauce, wasabi mayo. My friend went with chicken light — the 'light' line basically means salad! So she ordered a chicken salad haha. For sauce she picked the recommended pairing, sriracha.

• Chicken Light ₩7,900
• Beef Pasta ₩13,900
• Total paid on our visit: ₩21,800!

Packed to go — was it still good 2-3 hours later?

Not long after ordering, our takeout came out quickly. It was packed pretty carefully so the contents wouldn't shift inside the container, so I headed home feeling excited haha.

I couldn't eat it right after picking it up and ended up eating it 2-3 hours later, but the pasta hadn't gotten as soggy as I expected. The meat and vegetables were also in good shape, so it was plenty satisfying even as a takeout meal! This would work well for office workers who buy lunch and eat it a bit late, or anyone picking it up on the go.

How was the beef pasta protein box?

First, the beef pasta I was most excited about! The steak wasn't dry at all, so tender and delicious, ugh. One bite in and it felt way more filling than expected, so there was no need to worry about getting hungry after a 'salad.'

The wasabi mayo sauce in particular worked surprisingly well. It kept the savory richness of the mayo while the wasabi cut through the heaviness, so it went great with both the beef and pasta together! The sauce wasn't overly sharp either, so I could eat it comfortably all the way through.

And the pasta itself — genuinely, genuinely delicious. It had a slightly spicy-honey savoriness to it, so it didn't have that typical bland diet-food feel. My friend, who isn't even a big noodle person, took one bite and her eyes went wide haha. It tasted indulgent while still being relatively light, which made it really satisfying.

Chicken Light & honest final thoughts

I also tried my friend's Chicken Light, and every piece of chicken breast had a soft texture. Chicken breast salad usually gets dry and tiring after a few bites, but here the chicken stayed moist enough to finish comfortably. Adding the sriracha sauce made it a bit spicy too, so it wasn't bland at all.

Overall I liked that it's diet food that doesn't give up too much on flavor. It's not just a super-light salad — you can get protein and carbs together, so it was filling as a single meal, and I liked that the taste didn't fall apart much even after some time passed post-packing.

This is perfect for office workers near Gongdeok Station looking for an easy meal like salad, salad pasta, or poke! It's convenient for solo dining, and being connected to Gongdeok Station makes it easy to get to even on rainy or cold days. Next time I'm on a diet and craving pasta again, I think I'll come back for the beef pasta haha.