About Veo
Veo Robert is the chef-owner of Phaeng & Phiu, his Lao-inspired pop-up that just won Boston Magazine's 2025 "Best Pop-Up" award. Born in Vientiane, Laos, he moved to Providence at fourteen and started cooking in his family's restaurant, Thai Star. That's where he caught the bug, but working at local French and Italian spots introduced him to his true love, New England seafood.
Over his 20+ year career, Veo has cooked at some of Boston's best restaurants, including Radius, Menton, Row 34, Myers+Chang, and Traveler Street Hospitality (Bar Mezzana, Shore Leave, No Relation, and Black Lamb). Now with Phaeng & Phiu, he's taking it back to his roots: bringing authentic Lao flavors to New England using the incredible local ingredients he's worked with for decades.
When he's not cooking, you'll find him on the golf course or hanging out with his wife and dog Emilio—two of his favorite ways to unwind.
A Letter from Chef Veo
Thank you so much for joining me on the Phaeng & Phiu pop-up journey. Phaeng and Phiu is not only me exploring and recapturing some of these food memories, but I also want to showcase how food and hospitality are core to Lao people. There are Lao communities in Rhode Island, Lowell, and Lynn and lots of Lao restaurants to be explored, sometimes disguised as Thai restaurants. My hope is that these pop-ups will create more curiosity about our food and culture.
The pop-up is named after my parents, Humphaeng (Phaeng), my dad, and Khamphiu (Phiu), my mom. I was born and grew up in Vientiane, Laos but they are both from Luang Prabang, the former capital of Laos in the northern part of the country.
I decided to visit Luang Prabang for the first time as an adult in December 2024, I still have an uncle who lives there. Even though most of my family is in Rhode Island, talking about our family history is not really a thing. With my wife’s prompting, I’ve become more curious and am exploring my own history through travel and conversations with my mom. I recently learned that she was a “ping gai” hawker (grilled chicken) just across the street from my father’s gas station. They started talking and bonded over her chicken, and the rest is history. My dad loved food – when I would go out with him, we’d make several detours to pick up different snacks or “mi ka ti” ໜີ່ກະທິ, a coconut milk noodle soup. Those are my most cherished memories of him. He passed away when I was 13.
Lao culture places special emphasis on hospitality, in fact, we have a word for it, “liang” ລ້ຽງ. It literally means “to feed” or “to nurture,” but it’s so much more than that. It’s an obligation to make guests feel welcome and at home. Interestingly, this is the same care and attention that was standard at some of the places I’ve worked, but without any pretension. My mom took great pride in providing excellent hospitality and she instilled the importance of “liang” in me and my sister. I hope that you will feel our commitment to “liang” every time you dine with us.
Looking forward to feeding you soon,
Veo
Press
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![Chef Veo's headshot]()
Lao cuisine takes center stage at Quincy pop-up
“It’s always been my dream to celebrate my food and do it in a way I can incorporate the hospitality side of things I’ve been working on for 25 years,” says Robert. “I’ve spent my career cooking other people’s food, like French and Italian. I just went to Laos and realized my food deserves to be celebrated as much as these cuisines we all know and love.”
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![Lao food spread, rice, ping gai, and green bean salad]()
Boston Pop-Ups You Gotta Try, February 2025
Chef Veo Robert, an alum of powerhouse Boston restaurants including Menton, Row 34, and Myers & Chang, is stepping out on his own with the debut of Phaeng & Phiu, a new pop-up showcasing Lao cuisine. The venture is named after Robert’s parents, who lived in Luang Prabang and met and bonded over food while Robert’s mother was selling grilled chicken at a hawker stall. Robert is hosting his first pop-up dinner at Hong Kong-style cafe Rubato
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![Ping gai grilled chicken]()
The Best Dishes Eater Boston’s Editor Ate in April
Boston’s pop-up game is strong right now, and Veo Robert’s Lao concept Phaeng & Phiu (named after the chef’s parents) is a can’t-miss addition to the scene. Robert, an alum of high-profile restaurants like Menton and Myers & Chang, expertly used the tasting menu format to tell stories of his childhood and cultural connections to Laos while popping up at Comfort Kitchen.
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![Veo mixing a bowl in a kitchen]()
Veo Robert is staging pop-up dinners of his native Laos
Veo Robert has spent most of his professional career as a chef mastering European cuisine in some of Boston’s best restaurants. Now, in the wake of homesickness for the food of his youth following the COVID-19 pandemic, he is staging pop-up dinners to test the area’s appetite for the dishes of his native Laos.
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![Best of Boston 2025 Logo]()
Boston Magazine: Phaeng & Phiu, Best Pop-Up 2025
If chef Veo Robert’s pop-up doesn’t spark a citywide obsession with Laotian cuisine, we’re staging an intervention. Whether he’s cooking up pun mieng—a big platter of drinking food, from fried whole black bass to smoked sausage—or New England-meets-Laos grilled quahogs with jaew som (a spicy-sour sauce), fried garlic, and caviar, this is one pop-up worth chasing.
