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.

Branch Line is turning Watertown into a little slice of Laos on Monday, February 23rd, as chef Veo Robert brings his award-winning Phaeng & Phiu pop-up back for a one-night-only appearance. The star of the show at this collab is a Hudson Valley heritage rotisserie chicken, ping gai ປີ້ງໄກ່ style – it’s a fun, flavorful mash-up where Branch Line’s signature dish meets the bright, bold spices of Laos.

A Boston-based dining concept by Chef Veo Robert, offering Lao-inspired fare that blends bold, traditional flavors with New England ingredients. With 20+ years of fine dining experience, Robert brings a fresh, elevated take on Lao cuisine and the warmth of Lao hospitality.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

On Monday, November 3rd, the team at Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks is handing the reins to Chef Veo Robert of Phaeng & Phiu for a pop-up that brings the best of Laos into the heart of The Fenway. [The] special menu of bold bites channel the depth and complexity of Lao flavors through the comforting, familiar lens of local classics.

A new wave of chefs and restaurateurs are making a name for themselves serving creative, unapologetically authentic dishes that reflect their roots…the rise of reimagined Asian cuisine may be the city’s most exciting independent restaurant boom in the shaky, post-pandemic dining landscape.