It seemed like forever that quick and easy, freshly made salads for lunch were hard to find in Hong Kong. Mix was an option, Prêt a Manger did good pre-mades, but finally, like buses, two salad specialists come along at once: Dressed and Just Salad.

Essentially they are the same concept, although true to its name, Dressed is rather more embellished offering salads served to go, or in generous bowls in the restaurant, soups and sandwiches rounding out the menu. Just Salad...is just salad - to go.

At both, it's hard to resist going for the custom made salad. You get to play greens God for the day. But that's where the problems start arising. You survey the cross-section of toppings laid out in front of you, or run your eye down the list, and try to imagine what you feel like, which will go well together and which are the ones that will give you best value for money. You think asparagus, edamame and olives - all premiums with extra cost at Dressed, basics at Just Salad. Tomatoes, onion, carrot and cucumber are the less exciting options, but as salad staples maybe they still need to get a look in? Decisions, decisions. Isn't life just full of them?

Just Salad - Take 1

The first time I tried Just Salad ($52 for a basic custom made salad, $42 for a wrap), I loved their ‘bring back your tub and get free toppings' philosophy. What a great start. I didn't like their minuscule portions of anything but greenery, and their three-bladed choppers mincing the salad into a pulp within seconds, and vinaigrette with rather too much gusto included. The result was a remarkably texture-less bowl of greens you really could have described as rabbit food.

Dressed - Take 1

The first time I tried Dressed ($58 for a basic custom made salad, $48 for a salad sandwich), I was put off by their additional costs. Sprinkled in with the ordinary ingredients somehow they stood out more than the separate section they rack up in Just Salad. And it was like they were reading my mind. Baby spinach got through but asparagus was an extra four dollars, edamame same-same, Kalamata olives an extra eight! Don't even think about tuna fish (+12), bacon (+8), chicken (+8). Of course if you're on a budget, suddenly they're the ones you immediately crave.

I was at the new Pacific Place 3 store, in the office block's basement next to a hugely sprawling Prêt, where the small Dressed with five tables was doing brisk business. The pressure to choose quickly when there's a queue of toe-tapping business people behind you is full-on, and I ummed and ahhed and finally went for falafel (+4), fresh jalapenos, red onion and snow peas, with balsamic vinaigrette. Choosing to eat at the store's seating area, as I sat waiting to be served I watched the suits and skirts striding past, did some long distance window shopping and tried to tune out the pseudo-mall white noise, while listening to office politics coming from right and left.

I have a theory that if you're flexing your cheffing muscles and going for non chef-designed salads the ingredients you pick say a lot about your state of mind. It was a Monday, so maybe subconsciously the falafel was a premium treat to boost the Monday blues, the jalapeño was for a bit of spice and energy, the red onion to bring some colour to a grey day and the snow peas were a tried and tested favourite. Baby spinach and romaine were the fillers.

The salad was cut up just right, and served in the square stripy bowl on a pristine white table that somehow made it better value for its $62 (and that's not just because of the two triangles of sliced brown bread, which were anyway surplus to requirement). And I can honestly say that it wasn't bad. It had crunch, it had flavour, it had just enough vinaigrette to bring the whole together. But the premium falafel was disastrously dry. Far from the moist, tasty sphere of Middle Eastern goodness I'd been anticipating, the balls crumbled to the touch and although the flavour was good, the sawdusty texture had me leaving some at the side of the bowl. And the fresh jalapeños had no heat at all.

Dressed - Take 2

More recently I revisited both. At Dressed IFC2 I tried the Soup and Panini option, for a value-tastic $48. The half size ham and cheese panini was tinini, but tasty, while the corn chowder was utterly delicious. Even if it's hot outside, at the IFC 2 restaurant, which is far more spacious, and after work hours delightfully calm in its strident green and orange way, it's comforting downing a rich, herby and hearty soup to counter the air-conditioning. My only criticism was the clams had a not-fresh chewiness. But as a change from a salad sometimes it's good to have something to seriously get your teeth into.

Just Salad - Take 2

And my recent Just Salad trip? Taking back my previous visit's bowl got me two extra toppings. And while they made a world of difference, I reckon I was served bigger helpings of toppings than the first time too. Was the server having a particularly generous day? Whatever...peas (sweet), beetroot (tasty), artichoke hearts, asparagus and olives (not premium - bonus) and jalapenos (pickled and packing a punch). Add in some low fat Dijon honey mustard, mix, chop (not too much) and serve. This one works. I recommend it.

Conclusion

In a nutshell it's great to have access to fresh salads prepared in front of you although considering the deals around town for lunch I wouldn't call either of them a supremely cheap option - and neither claims organic status. Just Salad wins on budget, Dressed's great panini soup set was a great salad alternative...

At the end of the day, in the case of Dressed vs. Just Salad, maybe eating all this salad has calmed me down as it turns out I'm a lazy fence-sitter; whichever one I'm closest to wins.