Palembang’s Pempek Staying Afloat Persistently

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

The situation of Pempek Village in 26 Ilir Region, Palembang, South Sumatra, Wednesday (9/7/2020). Pempek entrepreneurs in the region were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, but they continued to innovate.

Like the dough that makes it, Palembang pempek (fish cake) flexibly adapts in the face of changing times. With its roots as a homemade delicacy, pempek has now traveled far and wide.

Pempek, South Sumatra’s unique delicacy, continues to have new shapes and flavors. It uses the trans-Sumatra toll road to expand its market. Pempek refuses to give up amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hesty Anggraini, 33, the owner of Pempek Hesty shop in Kampung Pempek, Jl. Mujahidin in 26 Ilir area, Bukit Kecil district, Palembang, South Sumatra, was busy working behind her small desk on Thursday (2/7/2020). Two of her employees were serving diners. One by one, the pempek on the display counter were served on plates for the diners.

Pempek Hesty customers gobbled up their pempek while sipping cuko, a sweet, spicy and sour dressing served in little bowls. Usually, Hesty sells between 4,000 and 5,000 pempek in a day. “During the COVID-19 outbreak, I only see 1,000 pempek a day or even less,” she said. She even furloughed her four employees for a while.

Now, after the government eased COVID-19 social restrictions, her sales have gotten better. She now sells up to 2,000 pempek a day. Her employees have also resumed working.

Thanks to the network, orders from out of town have not slumped.

Fifie Fitria Rizky, the owner of Pempek Sulthan and Pindang Agan in Palembang, said that she worked with 50 resellers and drop shippers all around Indonesia and promoted her products on social media. “Thanks to the network, orders from out of town have not slumped. I still sell 5,000 pempek a day,” she said.

Most of her customers are from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi and Bandung. Sometimes, they are Palembang people residing in other cities. “This is why I can stay afloat for now,” she said.

Toll road benefits

Large amounts of orders from out of Palembang led her to innovate and develop frozen pempek that could withstand three days’ travel. “Now, I prefer delivering my pempek by land as it is easy,” Fifie said.

Delivery by land to Greater Jakarta is enabled by the trans-Sumatra toll road. Travel time between Jakarta and Palembang is only 7-8 hours now and Fifie’s pempek can easily withstand this.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Shanghai ice, soft chips, and brains are the mainstay menu at the Shanghai Ice Restaurant on Latumenten I Street, Jelambar, Jakarta, on Thursday (21/9/2017).

“Most pempek sellers in Palembang prefer delivering their products by land rather than by air these days,” Palembang Pempek Businesses Association (Asppek) spokesperson Jimmy Devaten said. Other than its relative ease, it is also cheaper. The land delivery cost is only Rp 18,000 (US$1.23) per kilogram, cheaper than air cargo, which can cost up to Rp 23,000 per kg.

Delivery by land provides an opportunity for pempek business owners to collaborate with land cargo companies. They enjoy discounted delivery and packaging fees. “This will hopefully increase sales,” he said.

In normal times, South Sumatra can produce 30 tons of pempek from at least 400 businesspeople in one day. The delicacy has supported South Sumatra’s economy. One kilogram of pempek can comprise 30 pempek, each of which is Rp 3,000. Sales of pempek in South Sumatra can reach Rp 2.7 billion. This excludes various businesses linked to pempek, including delivery, packing and transportation.

Of this amount, Rp 140 billion is from restaurants, Rp 100 billion is from hotels and Rp 20 billion is from entertainment spots.

Indonesian Hotels and Restaurant Association (PHRI) – South Sumatra branch head Herlan Aspiudin said that hotels and restaurants in Palembang contributed around Rp 260 billion a year in taxes, or around 15 percent of the city’s revenue (PAD) of Rp 1.5 trillion. Of this amount, Rp 140 billion is from restaurants, Rp 100 billion is from hotels and Rp 20 billion is from entertainment spots.

Changing times

Herlan said that he did not have the data on tax contributions from pempek. However, seeing the huge amount of tax from restaurants, pempek has had a huge role in the local economy. However, during the pandemic, pempek production dropped to only 10 tons per day. Local businesspeople continue to innovate to increase production.

Raden Fatah State Islamic University historian Abdul Rachman Panji said that he believed pempek sellers would continue to adapt with changing times, including innovating during the pandemic.

After belida became increasingly hard to find, pempek sellers turned to the striped snakehead, Spanish mackerel, red snapper and other fish.

Change has also occurred in the main ingredients for pempek. At first, tangkeleso (Asian arowana) fish was the main ingredient. However, as their population continued to decrease, pempek sellers turned to another fish, namely the belida or giant featherback. After belida became increasingly hard to find, pempek sellers turned to the striped snakehead, Spanish mackerel, red snapper and other fish. “We also have pempek without fish, namely pempek dos,” Abdul said.

It also comes in new shapes, from the simple, round-shaped adaan or the elongated lenjer to the big pempek kapal selam (submarine) with egg inside and crusty edges. Now, there are various colors of pempek and even crunchy pempek.

Because of belief and innovation, pempek has stayed afloat. Adaptation has led to pempek’s persistence as a much-loved dish.