The 10 surprise bags I got in October 2023

There is a food waste app called “Too Good to Go” where you can buy surprise bags filled with food that the restaurant or bakery or participating store has not sold (or extras that they made that don’t look good but are still good to eat).  You pay one third of the original cost.  All of the food is good to eat and I have been having so much fun trying different stores and their 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 $7.99, the minimum value of goods received should be $24 worth.)

Here are my hauls from Too Good to Go in October 2023 (10 surprise bags):

October 2, 2023:

Bagel Time TGTG $4.99 surprise bag

• Bagel Time (Danforth)
• 582 Danforth Ave., Toronto
• Pick up time:  8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $4.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  Two bags of 6-pack of Montreal-style bagels.
• When I arrived in the store and told the staff I was there for TGTG, he pointed me to the shelf to the left side of the store where there were a few bags of bagels and told me to pick and take two.  I saw some had sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and onion flakes but didn’t have a label.  I took two bags and left.
• The Montreal-style bagels tasted pretty good and weren’t stale.  The hubs liked the taste of them more upon steaming them at home.

Homegrown Juice TGTG $7.99 surprise bag

• Homegrown Juice
• 676 Pape Ave.,  Toronto
• Pick up time:  9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $7.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  Wonton wrappers, Beef broth, Broth with salt, Swiss chard (all were frozen).
• It was interesting to receive these frozen items and I’m glad the staff gave me a paper bag because these were quite heavy and cumbersome to carry down the street where our car was parked.  We used the items up in our home cooking and enjoyed them for the most part.  The frozen Swiss chard, upon defrosting, was quite tough to chew through.

October 5, 2023:

Pinoy Halo Halo TGTG $4.99 surprise bag

• Pinoy Halo Halo (Woodside Square)
• 1571 Sandhurst Cir., Toronto
• Pick up time:  8:30 to 9 p.m.
• Surprise Bag:  $4.99 plus tax = $5.64
• Contents:  Container of 2 longanisa, adobo, white rice.
• The takeout container was steaming hot.  I was surprised that the surprise bag wasn’t leftover halo halo dessert (as per the name) but that this store actually sells hot, ready-to-eat Filipino food.  It was a nice surprise.  The food tasted good.  There was a lot of white rice.

October 13, 2023:

Manal Bashir Pastry Co. TGTG $5.99 surprise bag

• Manal Bashir Pastry Co.
• 12 Centre St., Thornhill
• Pick up time:  7:30 to 8 p.m.
• Baked Goods:  $5.99 (no tax)
• Contents:  Blueberry Brown-Sugar Scone $4, Sticky Toffee Pudding Muffin $4.15, 2 Chocolate Chip Cookies $2 each, Wild Berry Cake Sample $3.75.  Total value:  $15.90. ❌
• I was disappointed with this bag.  Upon reserving it, the rating of the store was 4.4/5, which is really high and usually demonstrates that it will be an at-value worthy bag.  However, there were only four baked goods which didn’t even add to the minimum value.  They tasted fresh and good and they were pulled straight from the display case.  It definitely fits the bill of “too good to go” and as the items saved from being thrown out at the end of the day.

October 14, 2023:

Farina Plus TGTG $7.99 surprise bag

• Farina Plus
• 2563 Major MacKenzie Dr. W., Maple
• Pick up time:  3 to 5:30 p.m.
• Large Surprise Bag:  $7.99 plus tax = $9.03
• Contents:  3 frozen ready-to-cook pastas (pasta per pasta e faggioli $7.17, spaghetti alla chitarra $11.57, pappardelle $5.40).  Total value:  $24.14. ✅
• The spaghetti was thick and had a really nice texture to it.  It definitely tasted better than usual dry store-brought pasta!
• The pappardelle was similarly thick and tasted fresh too.
• The pasta e faggioli was a new one for us; we hadn’t tried these short pasta “strands” before.  Hubs prepared them in a pesto sauce and it was so tasty!!

October 17, 2023:

La Rocca Creative Kitchen TGTG $5.99 surprise bag

• La Rocca Creative Kitchen
• 1285 Elgin Mills Rd., E., Richmond Hill
• Pick up time:  4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
• Cupcakes and assorted baked goods:  $5.99 plus tax = $6.77
• Contents:  Pistachio Cassis Cube $8.25, Pumpkin Pie Mini $7.50, Slice of the Day $4.75.  Total value: $20.50. ✅
• Oh, my!  This was such a delicious bag to try!  The three mini cakes were absolutely delicious and made with quality and care.  I loved how light the pistachio cake was.  The pumpkin pie was rich and tasted of quality.  The slice of the day was sweet and aromatic.  I would totally get this surprise bag again if I see it pop up!  La Rocca has splendid cakes!  (We’ve bought them before.)

October 27, 2023:

Longo’s TGTG $6.99 surprise bag

• Longo’s (Hwy 7)
• 3085 Hwy 7, Markham
• Dairy: $6.99 (no tax)
• Pick up time: 5 to 7 p.m.
• Contents:  Simply Watermelon Juice $6.29, Oat Yogurt $7.09, Spinach Dip $6.99, Baba Ghanouj $3.99.  Total value: $24.36.  ✅
• Really impressed that 3 items had really far out best before dates (yogurt BB Oct. 31, spinach dip Nov. 6, baba ghanouj Nov. 20!! [Juice was due a day later, Oct. 28]).
• Really happy to try the new dairy Surprise Bags from Longo’s!!  TGTG finally rolled out the dairy bags to the rest of the Longo’s locations, including this Hwy 7 location, new on the app on Monday, Oct. 23 and I was able to reserve a bag.  However, when hubs when to pick it up that first night, the store said they had no items prepared and told him not to swipe on the app..  Argh.  Why couldn’t they have just cancelled the bag on their end so we would have known in advance and not head to the store?  So inconsiderate.
• Love being able to try new items through surprise bags.  The toddler loved the watermelon juice.  The baba ghanouj was surprisingly creamy and didn’t taste much of eggplant (which I prefer).  The spinach dip was great!!  Thanks to this bag, got to try the Silk oat yogurt for the first time and it was so silky smooth and nice (not sweet at all and rather on the bland side).

October 29, 2023:

Patisserie Gateau TGTG $6.99 surprise bag

• Patisserie Gateau (First Markham Place)
• 3229 Hwy 7, Markham
• Baked Goods: $6.99 (no tax)
• Pick up time:  8 to 10 a.m.
• Contents:  Assorted Chinese buns:  3 coconut cocktail buns, pack of plain buns, 2 coconut cocktail buns, 1 chicken and mushroom bun.
• Happy to get this reliable surprise bag again from Patisserie Gateau.  I was craving a soft fluffy Chinese bun and these hit the spot.

Lumiere Patisserie TGTG $7.99 surprise bag

• Lumiere Patisserie (Thornhill)
• 1102 Centre St., Vaughan
• Assorted Breads: $7.99 (no tax)
• Pick up time: 7:30 to 8 p.m.
• Contents:  bag of 3 Jerusalem Bagels $10, 1 Greek Olive Country Loaf sourdough (country sourdough made with 50% whole grain wheat, kalamata, tasos olives) $8.75, 1 German Baguette (flavoured with sourdough and dark rye, enriched with dark spelt; in traditional German crust) $6, 1 Flute (Southern Italian bread stick, filled with kalamata olives, cheddar cheese, and herb mix) $4.  Total value: $28.75. ✅
• Impressive haul of quality assorted breads!
• Loved the Jerusalem Bagels; so fresh, end-of-day goodness and soft.  German Baguette was chewy and soft inside.

October 30, 2023:

BMB Food Service TGTG $9.99 surprise bag

• BMB Food Service
• 880 Milner Ave., Scarborough
• Frozen Seafood/Meatballs for Hotpot: $9.99+tax = $11.29
• Pick up time:  1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
• Contents:  4 packs of frozen food for hotpot:  Vegetable Balls, Thai Fish Cakes, Fried Fish Balls, Crystal Shrimp Balls.
• Great haul of frozen items from Bangkok Meat Balls for hotpot!  Expiry for these items is not until MAY 2024! 😄  The shrimp balls are filled with fish paste.  The fish balls are so bouncy!  The vegetable balls are packed with flavour and veggies.  Super good haul!!

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