Samseong Station poke to go: steak on half rice, half greens, Ola Poke

Sick of chicken breast on my diet: why I picked Ola Poke Samseong Branch on the way home

On a tired walk home from work in the middle of my diet, I decided to skip the delivery late-night meal and pick up poke from Ola Poke Samseong Branch at Samseong Station. My body felt especially heavy and worn out today. I've been keeping up a healthy-ish daily diet lately, but eating the same chicken breast every day has honestly left me bored, and I was desperate to chew on something that actually tastes good.

Still, ordering delivery would have wasted all the effort I'd put into my diet, so I made up my mind to stop by Ola Poke Samseong Branch, a Samseong Station favorite near my office, and take a tasty poke bowl home.

Ola Poke Samseong Branch: the atmosphere and kiosk takeout order

Ola Poke Samseong Branch has a clean, bright interior and plenty of solo diners, and you order at a kiosk. I love poke salads and tend to hunt down good places, and Ola Poke is well known among office workers around here, so I'd always been curious. The clean, bright interior caught my eye first when I walked in. Quite a few people were eating alone in the shop, but I wanted to relax at home with Netflix, so I quickly placed a takeout order at the kiosk.

Steak poke, half brown rice and half vegetables, with the owner's recommended sauce

Out of the many menu options, I went for the steak poke, said to be the most popular, to load up on protein. For the base, instead of vegetables only, I chose half brown rice and half vegetables to keep me full. I picked the owner's recommended sauce, took my takeout container with a flutter of excitement, and headed home.

What toppings come on the steak poke at Ola Poke?

The steak poke at Ola Poke Samseong Branch is piled with cubed steak at the center, plus flying fish roe, chickpeas, lentils, corn, pineapple, cherry tomatoes and crispy onions. As soon as I got home I just changed clothes, sat at the table and opened the container, and the moment I lifted the lid I couldn't help gasping at how it looked.

The wide bowl was packed edge to edge with colorful, fresh ingredients, and just looking at it put me in a good mood. It looked far more varied and generous in toppings than an ordinary salad shop.

Behind the crunch of fresh vegetables, the crispy onions and the popping flying fish roe made it fun to eat, and the nutty beans left a rich flavor in my mouth the more I chewed. The pineapple and cherry tomatoes that turned up now and then kept the flavors light when they could have gotten heavy, so there was no chance of getting bored until the last bite.

Thickly grilled cubed steak sat generously in the very center, surrounded by crunchy lettuce and mixed greens like radicchio, popping flying fish roe, nutty chickpeas and lentils, sweet corn and pineapple, cherry tomatoes, and crispy onions to bring extra crunch.

Diet food usually brings to mind something dry and bland, but this felt like facing a really nice dish. The shop is spacious, so I often go at lunchtime too~~

Is the steak in the steak poke tough?

The cubed steak in the steak poke at Ola Poke Samseong Branch wasn't tough or dry but tender, and its lightly salty seasoning went well with the vegetables. I generously drizzled on the recommended sauce, mixed everything evenly with a spoon, and took a big bite. The steak that hit my mouth first was not tough or dry at all, as I'd feared, and chewed up really tenderly.

With every chew the juices spread gently through my mouth with a rich flavor, and the quality was so good I wouldn't envy the meat at a typical Korean barbecue restaurant. On top of that, it was seasoned just salty enough, so it paired perfectly with the mild vegetables.

The half brown rice base is the masterstroke

Choosing a half brown rice, half vegetable base for the steak poke meant none of that empty feeling you get from salad alone. The real masterstroke was the fluffy, well-cooked brown rice. When I ate only poke salad, I'd always get hungry again right after or feel something was missing, but with the popping texture of brown rice, buckwheat noodles, vegetables and meat all together, it felt like eating a healthy, high-end bibimbap (mixed rice bowl).

It felt like a perfectly balanced meal of carbs, protein, fiber and fat, so I felt no guilt while eating and instead felt like I was filling up on good nutrients.

How full did I feel after finishing?

After finishing a bowl of steak poke from Ola Poke Samseong Branch, I felt comfortably full for a long time, with no bloating. I cleaned the whole bowl and my stomach felt very satisfied. It wasn't the unpleasant, bloated, gassy fullness you get from heavy delivery food; what satisfied me most was that the pleasant, comfortable fullness lasted a long time.

If Ola Poke Samseong Branch can be this light and fresh while still giving such solid happiness and fullness, I feel like I could enjoy dieting every single day.

Thanks to the tasty steak poke I chose today, the fatigue of a tough day melted away in a healthy way. I'll keep dropping by on my way home from work and try the other menu items one by one. I ate well and healthily again today!