How Hot is Fahrenheit 88 & Starhill?

Today’s plan is to visit the Starhill Mall, as we never managed to make it here yesterday when we ended up in some other malls. Aaah, the retiree life of what shall we see or do today? So, after breakfast, we headed out and on our way…. Yes, you’ve guessed it, we came across another mall. Oh no, not again. Could we just walk on by and continue onto Starhill, of course we couldn’t!

Fahrenheit 88

Fahrenheit 88 (previously known as KL Plaza) is a shopping centre in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. It’s a multilevel mall offering fashion and electronics retailers, spa services, karaoke and casual dining. Now, as you can probably imagine, by this stage, both our brains are getting a little fried with all the malls we have been to. I mean, we both like a good mall to walk around in and more often than not, we cover a good number of miles doing just this. We especially like malls with cool architecture and design features, interesting things to look at, good AC and good options for places to eat and have a rest.

The mall was quite small and pretty. There were the usual pop-up style stalls in the central atrium area and some nice displays for the Chinese New Year. I did like the central roof atrium, which let in a lot of light and reminded me of some of the old bank buildings in Glasgow. We had a look around, which didn’t take very long, and then we made our way over to Starhill.

The Starhill

The Starhill, previously known as Starhill Gallery, is a luxury shopping mall located in the Bukit Bintang shopping district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, right opposite Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. The mall reopened on 30 July 2005 and was previously known as Starhill Centre.

As soon as we entered The Starhill, we knew that we wouldn’t be entering most of the shops because it is a luxury mall. It’s not that big a mall, and it does have a number of places to eat and have a drink.

They also host various events in the central atrium area, and there was some sort of pitching event going on for early start-ups. It’s strange because, having both been involved (in different ways) with this type of environment (of University spin-outs), how it operates, what’s involved, who the biggest winners are, how the investment, patents and IP aspects work, we were both quite immune and indifferent to all the excitement and pitching going on, on the stage. I do not doubt that some of these early-stage companies have great ideas, products or services, but the harsh reality is that very, very few will ever succeed. It takes a certain type of person and energy to be in the right place, at the right time and have the right connections. It can be a brutal process and is not for the faint-hearted. Even if a product could be life-changing and do great things, there is always the possibility (& risk) that it will be bought over and crushed by the bigger fish that do not want any competition. We both looked on at the youngsters pitching their wares on the stage, full of excitement, energy and vision, and hoped that it would work out well for them and leave them with a good experience, and not deflate their dreams.

There is a great bookstore in the upper level of the mall, and I came across a fab little sign that made me laugh…I think this might be another sign for me!

With the sign still in my mind, we opted for a Japanese restaurant for lunch – hey, I thought that would be the healthier option. I went for a vegetarian noodle soup option, and R went for a braised beef dish. The presentation was fab, but both dishes were a bit blah to be honest, and we didn’t really enjoy them. So much for me trying to be good and healthy!

After lunch, we had a final little look around the mall and then headed back to the apartment, picking up dinner from the Japanese supermarket place in the basement of the Lot 10 mall on our way.

Today's route:

Day 59: 22 January 2026

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Fahrenheit88 and Starhill Gallery are directly across the road from each other on Jalan Bukit Bintang, making them extremely close and less than a 5-minute walk. They are connected via pedestrian walkways in the Bukit Bintang area, allowing for easy, sheltered, or direct walking access between the two malls.