Jakarta. Online culinary guide Taste Atlas recently ranked pempek, a traditional dish from South Sumatra, as the third best seafood dish globally, surpassing the widely acclaimed Japanese cuisine, sushi.

Taste Atlas released its rankings on Tuesday, evaluating 100 seafood dishes worldwide. Pempek earned a notable 4.6-star rating, trailing only Japan’s kaisendon and Mexico’s camarones enchipotlados, with the latter securing the top spot with a 4.7-star rating.

Pempek, originating from Palembang in South Sumatra, is a traditional Indonesian fish cake made from ground fish meat and tapioca. Legend has it that an elderly Palembang resident, tired of the usual fried or grilled fish, innovatively ground fish meat, mixed it with tapioca flour, and deep-fried it to create a crispy, flavorful snack.

Over time, pempek gained recognition as a beloved Indonesian delicacy, typically served steamed and then fried in vegetable oil before being cut into bite-sized pieces.

Noteworthy pempek restaurants in Indonesia include:

• Pempek 161 in South Jakarta
• Pempek Megaria in Central Jakarta
• Pempek Pak Raden in Palembang, South Sumatra
• Pempek Palembang Pak Jenggot in South Jakarta
• Pempek 123 in Bandar Lampung, Lampung

Add as a preferred source on Google +