Pempek is the best-known of Palembang's dishes. Its origin is undoubtedly Palembang. However, the history behind the creation of this savoury dish is unclear. According to local tradition, around the 16th century there was an old Chinese immigrant who lived near the Musi river. He noticed an abundance of fish caught by the local fishermen. In the Sumatran tropical climate, before the invention of refrigeration technology, most of these unsold leftover fish decayed and were wasted. The indigenous people, however had limited knowledge and techniques for processing fish. During that period, most of the indigenous people simply grilled, fried or boiled their fish instead of adding other ingredients to make new dishes. The old Chinese man mixed in some tapioca and other spices, which he then sold around the village on his cart. The people referred to this old man as 'pek-apek, where apek is a Chinese slang word to call an old man. The food is known today as empek-empek or pempek.

Sumber :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pempek

Cilok is an Indonesian snack made with a blend of all purpose flour and tapioca flour, ground toasted dried shrimp, thinly sliced scallions, grated garlic, and season with salt, sugar, and ground white pepper. Water is then added to this mixture and kneaded until the point where it can be gathered into a ball. When you reach this point, the dough is ready, and you can start making 1 inch balls from this dough. The balls can be cooked by boiling in a pot of water or by deep frying in hot oil. Both versions are enjoyed with peanut sauce.