MANILA, Philippines – If you’re trying to be healthy, but don’t know where to start, and love to eat out, restaurants like Salad Stop! might help get you started. 

Salad Stop!’s just one of the number of salad-centric restaurants that have opened up in the metro, and they’re serving up some greener options for your lunch break. 

The menu does include a calorie count, but Adrien Desbaillets, co-founder and managing director, warns that counting calories isn’t a very accurate way of measuring how healthy something is. A mayonnaise-based dressing might have fewer calories than an olive oil-based one for example, but that doesn’t mean it has less bad fat. 

Adrien also gave a range of 500 to 700 calories for each of the salads and wraps, which makes them a good alternative for lunch and dinner. Salads aren’t known to be very filling, but these might even be good to share if you just want a light snack. 

The restaurant concept was brought over here from Singapore, and we dropped by their newly opened branch in Legaspi Village, Makati during a tasting event to see what they had in store. 

Here are some of the salads and wraps we tried at Salad Stop!:

Oh Crab Lah! (Salad P260, Wrap P250)

The Oh Crab Lah! salad is said to be the best seller at Salad Stop’s Philippine branches, and its Singaporean Chili Crab dressing is probably why – tweaked for Filipino tastebuds, this crab salad was spicy, but not painfully so. The restaurant does use crab sticks instead of fresh crab for this one though, so if you’re not a fan of the usual fishy taste that comes with it, you might want to skip this.

Tuna San (Salad P350, Wrap P340)

This Japanese-inspired salad was a favorite at our table. It features seared tuna, avocado, and edamame. The peppery seared tuna went great with the light Wasabi Honey Soy Dressing, which wasn’t too salty at all. There was no shortage of tuna at our table either, considering 3 people shared one salad. 

Go Geisha! (Salad P260, Wrap P250)

This is another Japanese-inspired salad, but its richer flavors definitely makes it different from the Tuna San. The tofu in the Go Geisha! surprised us, and the sweet corn balanced out its heavy Japanese Miso dressing. It’s an extra P110 for the baked salmon, but we think it’s worth the splurge if you’re going to order this. 

Iron “Wo” Man (Salad P350, Wrap P340)

We tried the wrap version of this spinach-feta cheese-pumpkin combo, and we can say that these salads work just as well with a totilla wrapper as they do without. The Iron “Wo” Man is great if you’re looking for something a little sweeter with its raspberry vinaigrette and yellow raisins. Add some chicken in for P50 too, if you’re looking for extra protein.

Cobb (Salad P260, Wrap P250)

Salad Stop! does classic salads and wraps too. If you’re overwhelmed by all the exotic salad choices, you can’t go wrong with the Cobb Wrap. This one’s on the heavier side, with eggs, bacon, and chicken, and the tortilla wrapper makes it all the more filling. This is a good one to share if you’ve got a small appetite.

Yogurt (P150)

If you’re craving dessert, Salad Stop!’s yogurt is a great option. While it doesn’t have the heavy and creamy texture of Greek yogurt, this isn’t quite as runny as the store-bought yogurt either.

Mango was their best seller, but they also offer up raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and plain variations. The flavors are determined by the syrup topping, and the yogurt already comes with honey at the bottom too, but the yogurt wasn’t too sweet when it was all mixed up. Don’t forget to dump in the granola that comes with it too, for that extra crunch.

Salad Stop! also has gluten-free pastries and other goodies from their commisary up for sale, including carrot cakes, acai banana cakes, fig bars, and mango quinoa Cookies. We couldn’t try everything, but we have to say that the Carrot Cake was a little dry for our taste.

Tip: Make your own salad! Salad Stop! doesn’t just offer pre-made combinations – you can make your own salad for P300 or wrap for P290. Adrien suggests you start by choosing your dressing – do you want something sweet or savory? – and working your way from there. In general, lighter toppings like edamame and avocado work better with lighter dressings like Wasabi Honey Soy.

You can switch out any ingredient in the on-the-menu salads for whatever you’d prefer, too.

This is the third branch in the Philippines; two others are in Power Plant Mall and in Central Square in Bonifacio Global City. 

Have you tried Salad Stop!? Tell us what your favorite combo is, or what you put in your salad in the comments below! – Rappler.com

Salad Stop! can be found at Lower Ground, Central Square, 5th Avenue cor. 30th St., Bonifacio Global City Taguig; R3 Level, Power Plant Mall, Makati City; and G/F OPL Building, 100 C. Palanca St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. They’re opening branches in Greenhills and Glorietta within the year.