Sotong goreng tepung is a real what-could-have-been dish bro. Plain squid is incredibly lean, like 90 calories per 100g lean, high protein, almost no fat. It should be a diet dream. But then you coat each ring in seasoned flour batter and drop it in the deep fryer, and suddenly that innocent squid is wearing a calorie jacket. The batter brings the carbs and the absorbed frying oil brings the fat. At around 460 calories a plate, it is not the worst thing on the table, but it is a long way from the lean protein the squid started as. The crispy coating is the entire story here.
The variables are batter thickness and how well it was drained. A light, thin tepung coating absorbs less oil and keeps the plate closer to 400, while a thick beer-batter style or a heavily clumped coating can push it past 550. Squid also goes rubbery fast if overcooked, so some places batter it thick to hide that, which works against you. Dipping it in mayo or thousand island sauce, which a lot of places serve it with, can quietly add another 100 calories. If you want the squid without the deep-fry tax, sotong masak gives you the same lean protein for far fewer calories. But if you are ordering the fried version, blot the oil, skip the mayo, and share it as a starter rather than a main.