Gongdeok poke restaurant, yuzu salmon oat box to share: Why Starve

I went to Gongdeok Station last week, and heard there was a good poke salad place nearby, so I checked it out. I've been into healthy food lately, so protein boxes really caught my interest.

How to get to Why Starve Diet from Gongdeok Station

Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch is in the building connected to Exit 2 of Gongdeok Station — just walk through the passage between the optical shop and Subway and you'll find it easily.

Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch: hours, address and parking

• Location: B131, B1F Lottecastle President, 109 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• Access: about 41m (1 min) walk from Gongdeok Station Exit 2, through the passage between the optical shop and Subway
• Hours: Sat–Sun 10:00–20:30 (break 15:00–16:00, last order 20:00) / Mon–Thu 10:00–22:00 (last order 21:30)
• Website: whystarve.kr
• Parking: free at the building's parking lot (search Lotte Premium Food Market Gongdeok)
• Notes: every protein box has 150g+ of meat, ready in 3–5 minutes, seating for both solo diners and groups, wide choice of sauces and bases

The storefront has an orange frame with an English sign for the diet food shop. A note outside explaining what a protein box is caught my eye.

What is a protein box?

A protein box is a high-protein, low-calorie meal packed with generous protein (150g+ of meat), healthy carbs, fresh vegetables, and various grains. Whichever Why Starve Diet menu you order, it means you're getting 150g or more of meat. The name Why Starve itself apparently means: don't starve, eat.

Inside the Gongdeok branch of Why Starve Diet

Stepping inside Why Starve Diet Gongdeok Main Branch, there were a few bar-style tables and some two-person seats. Not a tiny space, and it's also comfortable for solo dining.

The menu is cutely displayed on the wall.

There's also nutrition info on one wall, checkable via barcode.

Cute stickers were on the walls too, along with country-of-origin labels — even the kiosk itself is colorful, cute, and pretty.

Ordering at the kiosk

You order through the kiosk: first pick your main protein from chicken, beef, smoked duck, or salmon, then choose a base from pasta, tofu noodles, oat rice, cauliflower rice, or light (vegetables).

Why Starve Diet Gongdeok menu and prices

1. Chicken

• Chicken Light: ₩7,900
• Chicken Pasta: ₩8,900
• Chicken Oat: ₩8,900
• Chicken Tofu Noodle: ₩9,900
• Chicken Cauliflower Rice: ₩9,900

2. Smoked duck

• Smoked Duck Light: ₩9,900
• Smoked Duck Pasta: ₩10,900
• Smoked Duck Oat: ₩10,900
• Smoked Duck Tofu Noodle: ₩11,900
• Smoked Duck Cauliflower Rice: ₩11,900

3. Beef

• Beef Light: ₩12,900
• Beef Pasta: ₩13,900
• Beef Oat: ₩13,900
• Beef Tofu Noodle: ₩14,900
• Beef Cauliflower Rice: ₩14,900

4. Salmon

• Salmon Light: ₩11,900
• Salmon Pasta: ₩12,900
• Salmon Oat: ₩12,900
• Salmon Tofu Noodle: ₩13,900
• Salmon Cauliflower Rice: ₩13,900

5. Hot mala

Mala Protein Box: try all the tofu noodle and pasta options in a numbing, spicy mala flavor!

6. Drinks

• Americano Hot/Cold: ₩2,400
• Pepsi Zero: ₩2,000
• Sparkling water (green grape): ₩2,000
• Narangd Cider: ₩1,500
• Bottled water: ₩1,000

7. Sides

• Tomato/Sweet Pumpkin Soup: ₩3,500
• Greek Yogurt: ₩3,900
• Protein Cookie: ₩3,500

8. Dipping sauces

• Teriyaki
• Spicy Teriyaki
• Wasabi Mayo
• Sriracha Mayo
• Honey Mustard
• Oriental
• Yuzu Dressing

You can also pick sauces and toppings. There are so many sauce options — teriyaki, wasabi mayo, honey mustard, sriracha mayo, yuzu dressing, and more — that it's fun just choosing.

The two boxes ordered and the total price

Today I packed two boxes to take home and eat with mom. Chicken Light Protein Box (salad) ₩8,900, Salmon Oat Protein Box (poke) ₩12,900, totaling ₩21,800.

I chose yuzu sauce for the Salmon Oat Protein Box and oriental sauce for the Chicken Light Protein Box.

How the Chicken Light Protein Box tasted

The Chicken Light Protein Box is a steady bestseller at Why Starve. It comes with 150g of chicken breast, chickpeas, lettuce, green beans, broccoli, paprika, olives, and onion flakes.

The protein box is 287kcal and 44g protein — a light way to enjoy steamed chicken breast with vegetables.

I didn't pour all the sauce on; instead I dipped the chicken in it. It was well-grilled, and tasty eaten together with the green beans, olives, and chickpeas. My mom said it was delicious.

How the Salmon Oat Protein Box tasted

The Salmon Oat Protein Box is a poke (Hawaiian-style raw fish bowl) menu. At 410kcal and 34g protein, it uses fresh salmon that's rich in protein but low in fat. It includes 100g salmon steak, oats, chickpeas, lettuce, green beans, broccoli, paprika, olives, and onion flakes.

For this one, I boldly poured all the yuzu sauce and mixed it into the oats. The oats had a chewy texture that I liked, and there was plenty of salmon so the portion felt satisfying.

After finishing both, I wasn't stuffed, but I felt healthy thanks to all the protein.

Final verdict on Why Starve Diet Gongdeok

Even outside the peak time when office workers crowd in, there were still takeout and delivery orders coming in, which shows how popular this diet restaurant really is. Next time I want to try the cauliflower protein box. For anyone looking for a good restaurant near Gongdeok Station, or a salad and poke spot in Gongdeok, I'd recommend Why Starve Diet Gongdeok.

If you're looking for a diet restaurant, I think it's worth giving Why Starve Diet Gongdeok a visit.

If you're searching for a diet restaurant nearby, make sure to add this to your Gongdeok poke restaurant list :)