Cambridge Had a Little Lamb

Try to avoid falling asleep while counting the sheep in this one: Two restaurants with "lamb" in the title are making moves to open new locations in the region.

Happy Lamb Hot Pot filed for a wine and malt liquor license to open a 134-seat restaurant at 485 Massachusetts Ave., according to a calendar item for the Cambridge licensing board. A Japanese restaurant and sushi bar used to operate in that location.

One manager on record for Happy Lamb is Michael Luk, who is also behind a number of other hot pot restaurants in California, including a few Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot restaurants. Little Sheep is a chain with locations across the country and in Canada, China, and Japan. It is known for its three broth bases and a wide selection of hot pot accoutrements.

Little Lamb Restaurant — another hot pot chain with locations in China, Japan, Australia, United Arab Emirates, and the UK, plus a Beacon Hill restaurant — has two new locations in the works: another Little Lamb in Malden, and what the chain is calling Grassland BBQ, which is headed to Chinatown.

Little Lamb offers a la carte Mongolian hot pot and barbecue, plus juice, tea, milk, and beer. An employee at the company indicated that Little Lamb was not connected to the Happy Lamb Hot Pot planned for Cambridge.