Poke shop by Jamwon Station, Seoul: fire-grilled steak poke at Salling

I love salads and poke, and for a while I made them at home using the Jennifer Aniston recipe and lost a lot of weight. But putting together a salad bowl at home takes way more effort than you'd think. This time I found a Banpo poke spot so good I could never imitate it at home: Salling Jamwon Maple Xi branch (샐러링 잠원메이플자이점).

How to get to Salling Jamwon Maple Xi, and parking

Salling Jamwon Maple Xi branch is on the first basement floor of the Maple Xi shopping complex, right in front of Jamwon Station on Line 3. It's open Mon–Sat 10:00–20:30 and Sunday 11:00–20:00. Once you come out of the station it's practically at your feet, so it's super convenient for anyone coming by public transport.

This time I drove and parked in the Maple Xi complex parking lot. If you eat at Salling, they give you parking support.

The Maple Xi complex (Maple Xi neighborhood retail building) is new, so it's really clean, and it's good for grocery shopping, with clinics, academies, Pilates studios, hair salons and more. I go there often. You can have a salad and run other errands too. Just take the escalator or elevator down to the first basement floor.

The exterior alone gives off a fresh, zesty poke-shop vibe!!

Salling Jamwon Maple Xi: atmosphere and seating

The shop has a bright interior with a green wall as its accent, and tables for 2 and 4.

That green wall is totally my taste!!! I really love green, and thanks to the wall the whole shop looks bright and stylish! It's a great-looking Banpo spot for a weekend date, too!

There are tables for 2 and 4. The layout felt comfortable for eating alone, too.

Salling menu, how to order, and which base to choose

You order at the kiosk by the shop entrance. The menu is far more varied than I expected, so choosing is half the fun. There are lots of salads and wraps as well as poke, and you can add all sorts of toppings. I wanted to pick everything, so it was hard, haha.

After choosing your menu item, you pick a base, which is required:

• Brown rice & barley: if you want a nutty, popping texture
• Whole wheat pasta: if you want a light but filling noodle-dish feel
• Veggies only: if you want to cut carbs completely and keep it light
• Egg strips (+₩1,000): a choice for people on a keto diet

I really liked that you can customize the base to your taste and diet goals! There are lots of dressings too, and since there are recommended sauces, it was easy to choose.

Salling recommended menu

If we're going to eat, we figured we'd go for the signature items that looked the tastiest. We got the shrimp & scallop bibim poke (bibim means mixed) with basil garlic mayo dressing and the fire-grilled steak bibim poke with classic balsamic dressing, both with the 'veggies only' base. It felt like something that wouldn't make me gain weight, so I was proud of myself before even eating.

We sat down, waited a little, and our poke finally came out, and wow... look at that!

Colorful fresh vegetables and toppings were piled on generously, and it all looked so appetizing! You could tell they didn't skimp on ingredients and just packed them in.

Shrimp & scallop bibim poke + basil garlic mayo dressing

The shrimp and scallops in Salling's shrimp & scallop bibim poke had no fishy smell at all. Wow... this place is a seafood winner! Golden on the outside and moist inside, so delicious!

I poured the basil garlic mayo dressing all over and tossed it together. The fragrance of basil plus the savory depth of garlic mayo made it a total no-miss! Eaten with the vegetables it was crunchy yet soft, and I couldn't put my chopsticks down!

Fire-grilled steak bibim poke + classic balsamic dressing

For the fire-grilled steak bibim poke at Salling Jamwon Maple Xi branch, the meat is grilled over an open flame and served right away, so it was smoky and juicy. My child loves meat, so whenever we visit a poke shop I always order the steak poke for them. Salling's steak poke meat might be the best I've ever had.

The meat in salads and poke is often cold or tough, but Salling grills it over fire and serves it straight away. So when you chew, a gentle smoky flavor spreads through your whole mouth. The meat wasn't dry at all, bursting with juice, very moist and tender.

They drizzled classic balsamic sauce on top. Balsamic is usually decent anywhere, but I really recommend the balsamic sauce at Salling Jamwon Maple Xi branch! Sweet and tangy and delicious! The balance between the steak and the balsamic is perfect, too!

Is Salling poke filling? Portion size

Even with the veggies-only base, the poke at Salling Jamwon Maple Xi branch was generous enough to leave me pleasantly full. Besides vegetables like cabbage and lettuce, it has quail eggs, egg strips and soft crab sticks, so the ingredients are really varied and every bite has a different, fun texture. There was no moment of getting tired of it until the very last bite, and I enjoyed it a lot.

At salad and poke specialty shops, the toppings or vegetables are sometimes so skimpy you're still hungry afterward, right? Salling Jamwon Maple Xi branch was much more generous and hearty than I expected.

Who Salling Jamwon Maple Xi is recommended for

• Anyone who wants to break the 'rabbit food is tasteless' prejudice and try poke
• People like me who found making salads at home a bother
• Anyone looking for light, tasty poke or salad near Banpo or Jamwon
• Anyone looking for a good place to eat in the Maple Xi complex