Officials dine at high-end Bund restaurant

Officials of Huangpu district government in Shanghai had dinner at a high-end restaurant before joining in a New Year's Eve laser display at a site near the deadly stampede in the district's Bund area, according to a report on Monday by Caixin New Century Weekly.

The restaurant specializes in Japanese food and has only four rooms. Customers cannot order dishes but choose instead from a set menu that has an average price per person ranging from 1,888 yuan ($304) to 3,888 yuan.

A staff member with the restaurant said all the rooms were booked long before New Year's Eve but didn't say whether officials were served that night.