I made it a goal to try to explore a lot of the cultural sites in Seoul. I went to Deoksugung Palace to have a tour at 10:30am, but there was no tour, so I assumed their schedule changed.. or I had an incorrect time. Fortunately, at 11am, 2pm and 3:30pm, they have the changing of guards ceremony in front of Daehanmun Gate at the Palace.
The ceremony lasts for about 30 minutes and is the same. The ceremony is a tradition similar to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace in London and gives you the opportunity to experience the past.
Around the corner from the palace was a restaurant called Sanookeeya. It serves traditional Korean food and I was drawn to eat lunch here because of their display of bibimbap (stone rice). It wasn’t empty and I did see police officers eating inside, so I thought it can’t be too bad if local police officers were eating here.
I ordered the bibimbap and it came in a hot stone bowl with rice, pickled vegetables, kimchi, seaweed, and fish roe. I was disappointed because they bowl wasn’t hot enough to make the rice crispy, plus they didn’t give me hot sauce to make it spicier.
In addition to the bibimbap, they also provided a few side dishes.
Soup or some kind of broth came with the meal. It has a bit of green onions on top.
Cabbage with mayo is something I kept encountering but I can never seem to like it. I strongly believe mayo shouldn’t belong in a salad, but maybe that’s because I dislike mayo.
Kimchi and pickled daikon came as well. I love anything pickled, so this was delicious.
Overall, the food at Sanookeeya was ok, but not as yummy as I expected. I definitely enjoyed the changing of the guards way more than the food nearby. I took it as a lesson to never eat near super touristy locations
We Rate Sanookeeya: 
Location: To the left of the Deoksugung Palace
