Though the menu makes plain that these are hand-stuffed, the sausage is its own best evidence.
Pork, garlic, and ginger are named ingredients; sage was also prominent. Though the sausage ($6.99) was crisped before being brought to table, the insides remained super-succulent. Also shown: tum kao pick ($10.99), house-made rice noodles in a fishy sauce with a chili-pepper edge and a garlic garnish.
Side note: On the menu of this Laotian restaurant I saw the exhortation "zabb elee," or "very delicious" in the Isan dialect of northeastern Thailand, which borders Laos. No connection, I mused out loud to the waitress, with the two Isan restaurants of that name in New York? She confirmed that those words were, yes, simply a reassurance of deliciousness but added that the current owner of Phien's does indeed know the owner of Zabb Elee.
Phien's Kitchen
586 Westford St. (Marlborough-Belmont Sts.), Lowell, Massachusetts
978-441-0014
