Osaka Food Lab

Compared to beef, pork or chicken, lamb has long been considered a niche or speciality meat in Japan. But it’s made serious inroads in recent years, and now there’s an entire gourmet festival dedicated to the savoury stuff. The three-day Osaka Hitsuji Festival, brought to you by Australian Lamb, takes place at Osaka Food Lab in Umeda from June 5 to 7 and features a lamb dish line-up courtesy of 11 top-tier restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Chi-Fu. The menu extends from skewers, stews and simple grilled meats like steaks and lamb chops to mapo tofu rice bowls, burgers and paella. Boozy drinks like cardamom shochu highballs, spiced sangria, aged Shaoxing wine, red and white wines and draft and craft beers will be served to enjoy with the food. Admission tickets for the two- or three-hour sessions can be purchased online and cost ¥500 for adults. Entry is free for children in high school and below.