A bakwan is a sponge for oil. The batter is thin wheat flour, so it is mostly surface area, and it fries in oil that has been reused since morning. FatSecret's figure of 137 calories per piece with 11.6g fat means the oil is 100 of the 137. The vegetables inside, 25g of cabbage and carrot, are about 10 calories. The flour is 25. The rest is what the fritter drank.
That makes bakwan the worst deal on the gorengan cart per bite, worse than tempe goreng at 95 with 6g protein or tahu isi at about 110. At Rp 1,000 to 2,000 a piece nobody buys one. The standard is three gorengan with rawit, and three bakwan is 400 calories with 6g protein. Add a glass of es teh manis and the 4pm snack is 500.
Size matters more than type. The small bala-bala from a Bandung cart is around 100. The big Surabaya ote-ote, thick, with a whole prawn pressed on top, is 180 to 200. Bakwan jagung (corn fritter) is about 150 because corn is sweeter and denser than cabbage. Bakwan udang with several small prawns is 160 and has a little more protein.
The one honest way to lower it is the pan. Bakwan made at home in a teflon pan with a spoon of oil is about 80 calories, and that is the difference between a fritter that absorbs oil and one that just cooks in it.