[Convenience Store Adventure] "Salads for Diet"… More Taste, Fewer Calories

Full-fledged Summer Season Salad 'Popular'
Enough to Satisfy Hunger for Adult Men
Cheaper than Specialty Stores

As summer approaches in full swing, the number of people dieting is increasing, making convenience store salad products popular. They are easy to buy at nearby convenience stores and are attractively priced compared to specialty stores. With rising demand, convenience stores are also offering products made with various ingredients and sauces.

Among them, I tried the 'Salading Salad' series recently launched by CU. The taco salad caught my eye immediately upon pickup at the store, with taco toppings and vegetables visible through the transparent case. This product has a double-layer structure: the first layer contains the salad, and the second layer holds basil dressing and a fork spoon. You can enjoy it by pairing or mixing the toppings and vegetables. The taco is composed of pulled pork, cheese, jalape?o, olives, sour cream, and more, successfully delivering a spicy flavor. The salad includes vegetables and tortilla, allowing for a variety of textures.

The Bun Cha salad has glass noodles and cilantro on the left side, and pork and vegetables on the right. Although it is a salad, it effectively captures the essence of Bun Cha. The glass noodles were already seasoned, and when eaten with the pork, the combination was excellent. The salad sauce is chili dressing, which has a strong sweet and sour taste. Because of this, it was much better to eat the two sides separately rather than mixed together.

Bun Cha Salad sold at CU.
Photo by Im Chunhan.

The Caesar salad contains chicken breast, barley rice, and salad. The chicken breast and barley rice had a dense texture, similar to cold risotto. The salad has large tomato slices on top, with lettuce, red cabbage, kale, and other greens underneath. The sauce is yuzu dressing, which adds a refreshing flavor when poured on. Since it contains rice, it was quite filling, and checking the calories revealed it to be 430 kcal, about twice that of the taco and Bun Cha salads.

This was my first time buying a salad from a convenience store, and the taste and quality were quite good. Compared to convenience store lunch boxes, it might feel expensive. However, it is definitely cheaper than salad specialty stores, and the portion size was enough to satisfy hunger for an adult male. The wide variety of salad options is also a positive point. However, since some products have relatively high calories, true 'dieters' should check the nutritional information before purchasing.