The Secret Tunnel — Restaurant in George Town

I became interested when I saw the fantastic reviews for this place and of course, I had to give the food a try. Situated along a row of landed houses, you'll not miss this place. Parking however can be rather limited and one will need to consider parking at the taman area and walk across the street. I was recommended by the staff their famous Thai style pork knuckle rice, tom yam mama mee and steamed kampung chicken so those were exactly what I ordered. The tom yam mama mee was loaded with ingredients such as 2 prawns, 2 meatballs, a squid, an egg, plenty of mushrooms and roasted pork. This portion can easily feed 2 small eaters in my opinion. Upon taking the first sip of the essential tom yam soup, I can say that it leaned towards the sweeter end with a lighter soup texture as opposed to the rich creamy kind. I personally felt that the overall taste and texture can be amplified here e.g. the sour elements and richness of the tom yam as it tasted one dimensional to me with its sweetness. As for the pork knuckle rice, the pork meat was tender enough with of course, balanced fatty portions. However I thought that the aromatics were not as punchy as I'd hoped for. This can definitely be improved to enhance the flavors more. The steam kampung chicken was decent with its firm meat and smooth skin but the soy sauce was very light so it can be quite bland. I personally prefer more saltiness and a little sweetness in the soy sauce concoction. My overall impression of the food here was average...

Updated review: The reason why it has such raving review, unfortunately, is due to a "bought" review. You will be entitled for a selection of either 1 Thai Milk Tea or 1 Thai Green Milk Tea per table with review. You will have to show the 5 star review on Google along with food photo to them to capture a photo of your review before they allow you to get your free drink. Unethical.

Ethics aside, if the food is good then it is still worth a good rating but food tasted bad for both basil chicken and dried curry seafood rice. For seafood, the only real seafood on the plate is 1 prawn(updated: 2 medium sized prawn) and maybe 3 small slices or squid. The rest are tasteless fishball and immitation crab meat. The dessert is served with store bought santan which as an artificial taste. Vegetables and fruits in dessert are not well cut. Overall felt cheated with the good review on Google, you can get much better tasting thai food for a small fraction of price.

Update: previous 5 stars was not a fake as no food was served prior to review. Also, we verified on the free drink that it is 1...

Secret Tunnel is akin to the often-visited tunnel at Thailand's northern border town of Betong.

However, this Secret Tunnel is no secret as it is created as a modern Thai restaurant in Penang's Taman Jelutong residential area.

Location: Easily identifiable as there is a large, inflatable mannequin welcoming diners to the restaurant.

Opening Hours: Available for Lunch, Tea and Dinner daily, 11.00am to 10.00pm, except Wednesday.

Parking: There's some free parking spaces opposite the restaurant.

Ambience: A very relaxed, air conditioned coffee shop crowd with a limited number of tables.

Cleanliness: Very clean but some table surfaces looked a bit tired.

Product Order: Customers order items from servers who will hand you a menu. You can request them to recommend their signature or popular items.

Food Quality: Taste average, at best. We had pork trotter and chicken with rice. For beverage we had pandan tea.

Price: For the price we paid, the food quality leaves room for for improvement.

Lavatory: Did not visit.

Overall...