My Too Good to Go hauls in July 2023

Help the planet reduce unsold food from going to waste.  Approximately one third of all food produced goes to waste.  The mobile app Too Good To Go helps to divert food from being wasted by selling end-of-day/surplus products in a “surprise bag” to the consumer at one third of the original cost from restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and more.  Download the free app to give it a try for yourself today. 🙂

Here are my Too Good to Go hauls purchased in July 2023 (a total of 34 surprise bags).

(Where there is a clear price tag of the goods, surprise bags that meet or are above the minimum value are marked with a green checkmark and surprise bags that do not meet the minimum value are marked with a red X.  E.g. If a surprise bag costs $6.99, the minimum value of goods received should be $21 worth.)

July 1, 2023:

That Pretzel Dough $6.99 surprise bag

• That Pretzel Dough
• 2316 Major MacKenzie Dr. W., Unit 3, Maple
• Pick up time:  5 to 6 p.m.
• Assorted Baked Goods:  $6.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  Giant pretzel, pain au chocolat, cinnamon cookie that was already falling apart when it was taken from the display case, apple Danish, plain croissant.
• I had high expectations for this bag because it was rated 4.6/5 stars at the time of purchase.  Usually, such a high rating means that there is a big bag of food.  I did not think that there was enough in this bag to warrant a 4.6 rating.  Everything tasted good though.  I thought there would have been more items.  When I picked up the bag from the store, they had plenty of unsold items in their display case they could have included in the surprise bag.

July 2, 2023:

Little Sweet Bakery $6.99 surprise bag

• Little Sweet Bakery
• Unit 1SK8, 9390 Woodbine Ave, Markham
• Pick up time: 2 to 3 p.m.
• Cute Bag:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  2 Strawberry Mochis ($11.95), 2 Oreo Mochis ($11.95).  Total value: $23.90. ✅
• I have had their mochis before.  They are very soft with a thin skin.  Good bag, but I was hoping to get their dacquoises. 🙂

July 3, 2023:

Moge & Mofu $7.99 surprise bag

• Moge & Mofu
• 3262 Midland Ave. #E112, Scarborough
• Pick up time:  12 to 3 p.m.
• Bubble Tea and/or Baked Goods:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents:  2 Black Sesame Roll Cake (5.50 x 2), 2 Strawberry Roll Cake (5.50 x 2).  Total value:  $22. ❌
• Taste was good, but the bag was underwhelming for a store rated highly in the app (4.3/5 stars at the time of purchase).

Metro $6.99 surprise bag

• Metro (2900 Warden Ave)
• 2900 Warden Ave., Scarborough
• Pick up time:  3 to 6 p.m.
• Assorted Fruit & Salad:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  Very Veggie Salad $4.99, Bean Sprouts $2.49, Kale Slaw Salad $2.99, Fresh Vegetable Carousel with Dip $12.99.  Total value: $23.46. ✅
• Bean sprouts was a new one for us!  So was the vegetable carousel.  Love the surprises!

July 5, 2023:

Goldie’s – An Eisenbergs Company $6.99 surprise bag

• Goldie’s – An Eisenbergs Company
• 4580 Dufferin St., North York
• Pick up time:  2 to 4 p.m.
• Baked Goods & Assorted Juices:  $6.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  2 fresh juices (grapefruit, lemonade), 4 assorted bagels, homemade bun, chocolat au pain, scone.
• Very good quality and excellent customer service as always.  I love how the staff always describes to me exactly what I’m getting in the bag when I’m there.

HB Food Outlet $7.99 surprise bag

• HB Food Outlet
• 20 Alness St. Unit 16b, North York
• Pick up time:  1:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Bang Bang Shrimp:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents:  2 boxes of Bang Bang Shrimp.
• I really enjoyed eating the saucy shrimp after we cooked it.  Yummy!

HB Food Outlet $7.99 surprise bag

• HB Food Outlet
• 20 Alness St. Unit 16b, North York
• Pick up time:  1:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Pollock fillets:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents: 3 packs of frozen wild pollock fillets.  There were 4 or 5 fillets in each bag.
• This was a nice chance to try frozen wild pollock fillets.  Good bag.

HB Food Outlet $7.99 surprise bag

• HB Food Outlet
• 20 Alness St. Unit 16b, North York
• Pick up time:  1:30 to 6:30 p.m.
• Tilapia fillets:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents: 3 packs of tilapia fillets.  Each pack contained 3 or 4 fillets.
• Good bag to have some frozen tilapia to cook from!

July 4, 2023:

Let’s Soup 喝湯啦 $7.99 surprise bag

• Let’s Soup 喝湯啦
• Unit SE-1, 9199 Yonge St., Richmond Hill
• Pick up time:  7:40 to 8 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents:  Sweet Lotus Seeds & Lily Bulbs Soup (蓮子百合川貝雪梨糖水) $12, Pork Soup with  Cordyceps Flower & Moon Scallops (日月魚蟲草花淮杞瘦肉湯) $17.95.  Total value: $29.95. ✅
• SO thrilled to get this surprise bag a second time!  This time, we got a savory soup as well as a dessert soup.  Both were as delicious and healthy-tasting as last time. ^_^

July 5, 2023:

Metro $6.99 surprise bag

• Metro (20 Church Ave)
• 20 Church Ave., North York
• Pick up time:  2 to 6 p.m.
• Assorted Fruit & Salad:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  Small Caesar Salad with Real Bacon $6.99, Large Greek Salad $9.99, Crunchy Taco Chopped Salad Kit $5.99.  Total value:  $22.97. ✅
• So-so bag.  The salads weren’t fresh.

July 7, 2023:

La Prep $6.99 surprise bag

• La Prep (North York Center)
• 5150 Yonge St., North York
• Pick up time:  4:30 to 5 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  2 chicken noodle soups, 2 croissants, 2 pastries.
• Love the variety in this bag.  The chicken noodle soups were chock full of ingredients.  It’s like they scooped the rest of the pot of what was left for the day.  Nice baked goods.

Metro $6.99 surprise bag

• Metro (20 Church Ave)
• 20 Church Ave., North York
• Pick up time:  2 to 6 p.m.
• Assorted Fruit & Salad:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  Large Caesar Salad with Bacon $9.99, Chopped Kale $3.99, Sliced White Mushrooms $3.49, Steakcut Mushrooms $3.99, Shiitake Mushrooms $4.99.  Total value:  $26.45. ✅
• The kale was no good.  It was all going bad.  Good variety of mushrooms in this bag.

Brioche Doree $7.99 surprise bag

• Brioche Doree (North American Centre)
• 5650 Yonge St., North York
• Pick up time:  3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Prepared meals:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents: 4 croissant sandwiches, 2 breakfast muffin sandwiches.
• I love the items that Brioche Doree gives in their surprise bags.  Another delicious and generous surprise bag.  It was really nice to try their breakfast muffin sandwiches this time!

April Sweets $19.99 surprise bag

• April Sweets (Richmond Hill)
• 9471 Yonge St., Richmond Hill
• Pick up time:  3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• Surprise Bag – Cake:  $19.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  1 chocolate cake.
• Wow!  We got an entire chocolate cake in this cake surprise bag!  This was kind of plain in taste actually and not a rich chocolate flavour.  It had four layers though, which is one of the taller cakes we’ve had in recent memory.

July 12, 2023:

Bingz Crispy Burger $5.99 surprise bag

• Bingz Crispy Burger (Markham)
• 3229 Hwy 7, Markham
• Pick up time:  10:10 to 10:40 p.m.
• Holiday Surprise Bag:  $5.99 plus tax = $6.77
• Contents:  3 Signature Crispy Burgers ($5.59 each), 1 Liangpi Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce $6.59.  Total value:  $23.36. ✅
• Ah, I couldn’t believe that I nabbed another Bingz surprise bag!  I noticed two days ago that they weren’t giving the regular surprise bag, but the “holiday” surprise bag instead.  This one is a dollar more than the regular bag.  Indeed, the contents surpass the minimum value.  What a great meal!!

July 13, 2023:

Rainbow Tea $6.99 surprise bag

• Rainbow Tea (Markham)
• 3623 Hwy 7, Markham
• Pick up time: 8 to 9 p.m.
• Surprise Bag: $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  Avomango Smoothie $8.49 with crystal balls $1, Milk Tea $6.49 with Tapioca $1, Green Lemon Tea $6.49 with Cheese Foam $1.  Total value: $24.47. ✅
• I was so pleasantly surprised and happy with this bag!  Loved the variety of the drinks and how good each one tasted!  The Avomango Smoothie was the standout for sure.  It was so unique, tasty, and had popping crystal balls.  The size of the drinks is great too. Presentation is 100 points (although these one-time use containers really do not favour our planet earth).

July 15, 2023:

Bake Sale $7.99 surprise bag

• Bake Sale (Bloor West)
• 2300 Bloor St. W, Toronto
• Pick up time:  10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $7.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  6 frosted cupcakes. ($24.90 for 6 large cupcakes).  Total value:  $24.90. ✅
• These were small and cute cupcakes.  I thought the frosting was too sweet for my taste.  There wasn’t much to write about the cupcake itself.

7-Eleven $4.99 surprise bag

• 7-Eleven (3355 Dundas)
• 3355 Dundas St. W, York
• Pick up time:  7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Ready-to-eat:  $4.99 plus tax = $5.64
• Contents:  Chicken Burrito $6.99, Grapefruit Chunks $5.99, Pineapple Chunks $5.99.  Total value:  $18.97. ✅
• I enjoyed the chicken burrito; it was large and full of ingredients.

7-Eleven $3.99 surprise bag

• 7-Eleven (3355 Dundas)
• 3355 Dundas St. W, York
• Pick up time:  7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Baked goods:  $3.99 plus tax = $4.51
• Contents:  1 Cinnamon Roll $1.89, Chocolate Long John with Cream Filling $1.89 x 2, 1 Apple Fritter $1.89, 1 Boston Creme $1.69.  Total value:  $9.25. ❌
• Nice assortment of sweet baked goods.  My first time trying 7-Eleven’s baked goods.

St. Urbain Bagel $7.99 surprise bag

• St. Urbain Bagel
• 895 Eglinton Ave. W, York
• Pick up time:  12 to 12 p.m.
• Bagel Bag:  $7.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  4 bags of 6-pack bagels = 24 bagels.
• Upon showing the staff member the pickup page on the app, she gave me a plastic bag and told me to grab four from the rack behind me.  The rack was full of day-old bagels.  I felt like a bandit for just grabbing and go like that, haha.  I chose four bags of different bagels to get a variety. Unfortunately, the bagels were all kind of stale.

July 18, 2023:

Metro $9.99 surprise bag

• Metro (1 Henderson Dr)
• 1 Henderson Dr., Aurora
• Pick up time:  4 to 6 p.m.
• Cake Bag:  $9.99 plus tax = $11.29
• Contents:  6 Lemon Custard Tarts $13.14, Rainbow Bar Cake $18.99.  Total value:  $32.13. ✅
• This was a great cake bag (because the items fit our taste!)  I still remember the last cake bag we bought from this location where the bar cake was too sweet for us and we ended giving it away.  The Lemon Custard Tarts were beautifully assembled and nice to eat (the tart part was a little too soft for my liking though but because it was so soft, the whole thing in my mouth tasted like cake).  The Rainbow Bar Cake was so pretty, like it was meant for a kid’s birthday party.  There were 6 layers in the cake; so soft and nice to try.  It was really tasty too!

Metro $6.99 surprise bag

• Metro (1 Henderson Dr)
• 1 Henderson Dr., Aurora
• Pick up time:  3 to 6 p.m.
• Assorted Fruit & Salad:  $6.99 plus tax =  $7.90
• Contents:  Kale-Citrus Salad $5.99, BLT Chicken Salad with Real Bacon Bits $7.49, Pineapple Slices $3.99, Mini Carrots-Celery Sticks and Dip $3.99, Celery Sticks with Hummus $3.99, Cucumber Sticks and Dip $3.99 x 2.  Total value:  $33.43. ✅
• First time getting a salad bag from this location of Metro!  The pickup wasn’t at the Service desk as usual despite it showing to pick it up from there in the app because the staff member manning the desk told me to pick the bag up at the “cut fruit” section instead.  When I went there, the staff member told me to wait while she retrieved the bag for me.  I followed behind her to the checkout area and waited… and waited.  I didn’t see her anymore nor see her coming back.  It was a waste of my time (especially because my mom and both kids were waiting in the car).  Eventually, I walked back to the cut fruit section and saw the same staff member.  I asked her about the bag and she brought it out to me then.  She didn’t even realize that I had been waiting for her all that time…🤦‍♀️.  She also thought I had picked up the bag already because she saw that I had a bag in my hand.  No, that was the cake bag.
• Amazing selection of fruit and salad!  Great value bag too!  The vegetable cups with dip were a new item for us.  I didn’t know that Metro carried these convenient snack cups!  Everything was marked a BB date of today’s pickup, but the salads were very fresh.  What a difference to be able to eat every leaf in the salads compared to the recent 2 poor quality salad bags we got at the 20 Church location.

Denj Pastry $6.99 surprise bag

• Denj Pastry 
• 15221 York Regional Rd 1, Aurora
• Pick up time:  4 to 5 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  5 Raisin Cookies, 1 Walnut Cookie, 6 Persian Baklava Bites, 3 baklava pastries, 3 Danish Pastries.
• What a great selection of Persian treats this was!  We got to try some new Persian pastries we have never had before.  The Raisin Cookies were interestingly flat, chewy, and sweet with raisins baked into it.  The Walnut Cookie was definitely walnuty.  The Persian Baklava Bites reminded us of the nut-filled mooncakes.  The Danish Pastry was especially delicious and up my alley in terms of taste preference — soft pastry and the filling was yummy.  The baklava pastry had a lot of coconut in it.
• The store owner told me that their store was new and they had only been open since last week!  I hope they do well!

July 19, 2023:

Hey Sugar $6.99 surprise bag

• Hey Sugar (Richmond Hill)
• 328 York Regional Rd 7, Richmond Hill
• Pick up time: 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Surprise Bag: $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  Kumquat Lemonade $5.99, 2 Watermelon Green Teas with crystal balls $6.99 x2, Golden Tapioca Milk Tea $6.99.  Total value: $26.96. ✅
• A nice bag of 4 drinks!  Watermelon and lemonade were so refreshing and perfect as a summer drink.  The crystal balls were squishy and not too bouncy (not the freshesh?).  Milk tea was full of tea flavour, but tapioca was average-tasting.  Good value bag.

July 22, 2023:

Burnhamthorpe Fruit Market $7.99 surprise bag

• Burnhamthorpe Fruit Market
• 3647 Dixie Rd, Mississauga
• Pick up time:  9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Bread:  $7.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  Mixed Berry Pie $6.99, sliced bread, sourdough bread, 2 cheese and chive pies, 3 pastries, big O-shaped bread.
• I love that Burnhamthorpe Fruit Market truly embraces the meaning of “too good to go” and gives out everything they have that they can’t sell.  Loved the variety that we got this time.  I can’t recommend this store enough on TGTG!

Little Rose Cookie Co. $9.99 surprise bag

• Little Rose Cookie Co.
• 13 Main St., Mississauga
• Pick up time:  10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
• Baked Goods:  $9.99 plus tax = $11.29
• Contents:  Stuffed cookie $4.25, 2 cake pops, 1 frosted cookie, assorted plain shortbread cookies.
• I was absolutely shocked to open this box to see the contents of this surprise bag.  How can this be worth $30?!  Very disappointing to pay $10 and only receive such few baked goods…  The shortbread cookies were tasty though.

Metro $6.99 surprise bag

• Metro (1500 Royal York Rd)
• 1500 Royal York Rd., Etobicoke
• Pick up time: 3 to 6 p.m.
• Assorted Fruit & Salad:  $6.99 plus tax =  $7.90
• Contents:  Cored Gold Ripe Pineapple $4.99, Ready to eat Cherries Bowl $2.99, Honeydew Chunks $4.49, Buffalo Ranch $5.99, Ultimate Caesar $5.49.  Total value: $23.95. ✅
• Solid bag.  Loved the fruit especially!  Very fresh items, especially the juicy and plump cherries.

July 23, 2023:

The Night Baker $5.99 surprise bag

• The Night Baker (College)
• 825 College St., Toronto
• Pick up time:  12 to 1:30 p.m.
• Assorted Cookies:  $5.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  8 cookies (Mistachio, Sans Rival, Beggo’s, The Classic, Coco Pandan x2, Rabbit-mansi [new! Their 77th creation], Choco Butternut).  (1 cookie for $3.45.  6 cookies for $19.)  Total value: $25.90. ✅
• Finally!  I was SO happy to finally be in the area to get this bag!  I’ve had their cookies two times before (fun fact: I taste tested their cookies when they first started delivering cookies around the city and didn’t even have their 2 stores yet).  Loaded gourmet cookies.  My daughter couldn’t stop devouring the green pandan cookie.

Greenhouse Juice $6.99 surprise bag

• Greenhouse Juice (Forest Hill)
• 328 Lonsdale Rd., Toronto
• Pick up time:  10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Assorted Items:  $6.99 plus tax = $7.90
• Contents:  Ginger Beer $4.45, Rainbow Bright with Sweet Poppy Dressing $11.95, Super Seed Chia Seed Pudding $6.95.  Total value: $23.35. ✅
• Very disappointed with this bag.  The store was rated 4.7/5, so I expected a generous bag.  Only got 3 items.  The salad and chia seed pudding were both dated 4 days before the BB date, but the salad didn’t taste fresh and was starting to go.  The zucchini noodles were very soft (not fresh) and I had to throw out all of the celery.  It had turned colour and was starting to rot.  The chia seed pudding with the rolled oats was tasty.  The ginger beer was fizzy and nice to try.
• Odd pickup experience:  the moment I walked into the store, the female staff barked at me, “Don’t move, we don’t have — wait a minute, are you picking up Too Good To Go?”  I answered affirmatively.  Then she said, “Okay, come in.  One [bag]?”  I said yes, showed her the screen and swiped, she handed me the paper bag from the fridge, and I left the store.  The exchange was so quick and abrupt that I didn’t feel comfortable to linger in the store to look at anything else or take photos as I usually do.  Oddest pickup encounter so far.

July 24, 2023:

Metro $6.99 surprise bag

• Metro (70 Thickson Rd. S)
• 70 Thickson Rd. S, Whitby
• Pick up time:  3 to 8 p.m.
• Assorted Fruit & Salad:  $6.99 plus tax =  $7.90
• Contents:  Greener Selection Salad Mix $3.99 x2, Classic Romaine Salad $4.99, Broccoli Florets $4.99, Sliced Crimini Mushrooms $3.49.  Total value: $21.45. ✅
• Fresh salads.  All items BB dated today.  The employee who gathered the products for this bag really priced the value right on the nose.

July 29, 2023:

A Juice Dim Sum 點心屋 $15.99 surprise bag

• A Juice Dim Sum 點心屋
• 8339 Kennedy Rd., unit 2631/2361, Markham
• Pick up time:  2 to 5 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $15.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  A6 Chives and Shrimp Cake $18/10 pieces = $1.8/piece (5 pieces = $9), B2 Pork and Shrimp Dumplings $28/50 pieces = $0.56/piece (10 pieces = $5.60, B8 Beef balls $15/15 = $1/piece (5 balls = $5), D8 spare ribs (no price), A11 Steamed Pork Bun $10/6 pieces (6 buns = $10).  Total value: $29.60 not including spare ribs (well below expected value of $48).
• One of the more expensive surprise bags I’ve purchased on this app thus far. The siu mai and spare ribs were incredibly fatty.  My family said there was a weird taste to it.

July 31, 2023:

Brioche Doree $7.99 surprise bag

• Brioche Doree (North American Centre)
• 5650 Yonge St., North York
• Pick up time:  9:30 to 11 a.m.
• Baked goods:  $7.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  3 savoury pastries and 3 sweet pastries.
• We really enjoyed these pastries!  The first time I got a “baked goods” bag from Brioche Doree.  The two other ones were prepared meals.

World Tea House 世界茶饮 $7.99 surprise bag

• World Tea House 世界茶饮
• 3601 Hwy 7, #112, Markham
• Pick up time:  8 to 8:45 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents:  3 drinks (Jasmine Green Tea with pearls, winter melon with pearls, milk tea with tapioca).
• Pretty good teas.  There were lots of pearls in the drinks; it must be because it was the end of day and they put in the rest of what they had made.

Deer Cake $13.99 surprise bag

• Deer Cake (Markham)
• 30 South Unionville Ave., #1017, Unionville
• Pick up time:  4 to 9:30 p.m.
• Surprise Bag: $13.99 plus tax = $15.81
• Contents:  Ovaltine Box ($17.50) and two Chocolate Ice Cream Buns ($4.50 each).  Total value: $26.50. ❌
• It was very disappointing to receive less than the minimum value of this bag.  I thought there was going to be one cake.  The Ovaltine Box did taste good.

See what I got in my other TGTG hauls in:  January 2023,  February 2023,  March 2023,  April 2023,  May 2023,  June 2023,  July (this one),  August 2023,  September 2023,  October 2023,  November 2023,  December 2023.