TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Javanese shrimp cake from Sidoarjo, East Java, is gaining popularity among foodies across the country. The cake, called ote-ote Lapindoo, is named after the mud flow tragedy happened in Sidoarjo that was caused by the blowout of a natural gas well drilled by PT Lapindo. 

Didik Kusnadi, 40 years old, the seller and creator of the cake, said he started to sell ote-ote Lapindoo three years ago.

“Initially I sold it around my residence at Perumtas (Perumahan Tanggulangin Sejahtera) 3 Wonoayu,” said Didik, on Sunday, September 6.

As time goes by, the delicacy of Didik’s shrimp cake has spread around both from mouth to mouth and in social media.

“There were even some buyers from outside the country who asked to get a delivery,” Didik claimed.

He admitted that the name “Lapindo” boosts the popularity of his ote-ote. However, ote-ote Lapindo is different from shrimp cakes sold in other places including the one sold in Porong. The cake has fillings that is consisting of chicken, seaweed, mushroom, and scallion slices. The cake itself is made of tasty wheat powder and egg dough.

“That’s what make ote-ote Lapindo different,” said the man from Madura who used to work at a company in Surabaya.

One portion of hand-palm sized ote-ote Lapindo can be enjoyed with Rp5,000.-. According to Didik, he sells 100 to 150 portions of ote-ote each day.

NUR HADI