The short version
Tunjungan is the part of Surabaya to choose when being in the middle of the city matters more than having a conventional neighbourhood on the doorstep. It is a working commercial street, a hotel address and an evening promenade, with a much stronger sense of the old city than the newer western developments. The appeal is immediate; the domestic practicality depends rather more on the exact building and side street.
A street with memory
The corridor grew from a route between the colonial administrative centre and the older northern city, then became a centre for shops, hotels and restaurants. That history is still visible in the surviving buildings and most sharply at Hotel Majapahit. The street is not a heritage set-piece: office workers, shoppers and visitors use it throughout the day, and the traffic patterns belong to a large Indonesian city rather than a pedestrian quarter.
The recent public-realm work has made it more pleasant to walk in the evening. Cafes and events give it a social life which is useful if you are new to the city, although it also means that the quietest-looking flat can be less quiet on a weekend than it appeared at noon.
Living here
Look beyond the Tunjungan label. A hotel-adjacent apartment, a unit near a large mall and an older building on a side street offer distinctly different daily lives. The practical advantage is proximity to central services and the ability to make some short journeys on foot; the compromise is that ordinary errands still share the road system with the rest of central Surabaya.
This is a good base for someone whose work, meetings and social life are concentrated in the centre. It is less persuasive for a household wanting a garden, a quiet compound or regular journeys to the far west and east of the city.
Would I choose it?
Yes, if I wanted the city rather than an estate. Tunjungan is unusually legible for Surabaya and it rewards people who value old buildings, hotels and a proper central address. Visit in the evening before committing, and check the route from the front door rather than assuming the famous street solves every transport question.