'I bought a 'magic' £5 Too Good To Go bag and walked out with an entire buffet'
Each time you pop to the shop for a couple of bits, it seems like you spend a small fortune, so when you can grab a bargain, it's often all too tempting.
With the app 'Too Good To Go', you can grab things that restaurants have left over at the end of the day - and the thought of picking up delicious goodies to eat, rather than them going in the bin is great.
However, it's a serious risk, because you may be left with an egg sandwich or two, rather than the double chocolate muffins you'd been dreaming of.
But when Daily Star writer Layla Nicholson popped into budget hotel Ibis, she bagged herself "the full works."
She wrote: It's difficult to get a full English for a fiver, let alone a whole breakfast buffet. Thanks to a nifty hack, I managed to bag myself the full works plus a croissant, pain au chocolate, bread roll and a slice of watermelon (for balance) all for just £5.
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How you ask? Well, I opened up Too Good To Go - the app for those who want to save pennies and, at the same time, want to help tackle food waste. Participating businesses flog their leftovers at low prices which can result in getting a lot of food for little money.
She was shocked at how much was left (Layla Nicholson/Daily Star)
She thought people at the hotel mustn't have been hungry that morning (Layla Nicholson/Daily Star)Although, there is a bit of a catch. What you get in a 'surprise bag' is much down to luck. And I struck gold when I bought the 'Breakfast Bag' at Ibis Canning Town.
"Your morning sorted," the description of the Ibis surprise bag promised on the app. While possible items such as eggs, sausage and "maybe even some flaky croissants" were teased, the contents of the bag remained a mystery until arrival at the destination.
Forever punctual and eager for the breakfast bag reveal, I arrived at the chain hotel a couple of minutes early. But, I was not alone. I sat down among a couple of lobby lingerers as I watched the minutes and seconds countdown on my phone until I could show off my collection code at 10:00am.
As the screen changed, one bloke darted to the reception desk as I sat back and observed as an amateur Too Good To Go-er. Now firmly on my feet, I followed in the footsteps of who seemed to be a veteran in the game. The staff member on reception greeted me and ushered me along to another staff member who handed out a cardboard takeaway box.
Could it be? "Help yourself," the staff member proposed with a grin, like they knew they were providing the adult version of a kid being told they can run wild in a sweet shop.
For just £5, instead of the original £15 according to the app, the whole breakfast buffet was mine to explore. My only limit was the recyclable cardboard takeaway box and my fragile stomach.
The hotel breakfast ends at 10:00am which is time for the Too Good To Go-ers to have their pick at what was left. And it appeared guests weren't very hungry this morning.
Food spanned from the continental type to all the trimmings of a classic full English. For me, if I was sitting down for a breakfast buffet I'd get my money's worth by cramming as much on the plate as possible. I've been known to get my yoghurt on my ham, and my bean juice on a flaky pastry or two.
There was plenty of choice (Layla Nicholson/Daily Star)
She also got a croissant and some other bits as well as the full breakfast (Layla Nicholson/Daily Star)However, I had to be smart about this. The app urges you to bring your own bag, and while I had my trusty tote to hand, I didn't trust the integrity of the flap-close box to hold baked beans and yoghurt within.
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So I modestly tonged a couple of sausages, a rasher of bacon, two hash browns, a dollop of baby button mushrooms, tomatoes and a good ole blob of scrambled egg in my takeaway tray. It was hard to choose what to put in as I was faced with an array of ham, cheese and fruits that manned the breakfast bar.
Other items included a variation of cereals, yoghurts and, of course, toasts and jam. As I ummed and ahhed how much I wanted to cram in my box, I munched on a slice of watermelon. Then I made the decision to lay a mini croissant and pain du chocolate on my bed of scrambled egg.
Yet, it quickly became apparent how much I was a newbie to the world of Too Good To Go. Others didn't have to worry about spilling their goods – because they came prepared. One bloke even brought a zip-locked bag to put his brekkie treats in – no danger of a bean juice bag spill for him!
Elsewhere, another bargain hunter went with the sentiment of 'get your money's worth' with his mountain of buffet baked beans. Though, it was difficult to establish if this would be a rookie error. I for one was not willing to find out in the name of this review.
A few more paces up and down to see if I could manage to fit anything else in. "Go, on pick up a bread roll," I thought during my budget breakfast buffet delirium. On the roll went.
Just as it was time to close the lid, the staff came up to us 'Go-ers' and asked if we'd like a hot drink cup. Unanimously, the answer was obviously yes.
Hot chocolate, coffee or a box full of wrapped Twinings teas are all there for my choosing. Peppermint tea would do for me and the future of my stomach.
The time for me to go had come, and as I closed my lid with a little oomph I overheard a staff member show presumably a hotel guest the breakfast buffet. She said that the spread is also open to the public for £13.50. That solidified that with Too Good To Go, I landed a right bargain.
If you've ever been appalled by staff wheeling away industrial bins worth of non-expired food or have been grief-stricken for your bank when you're met with a hefty price tag for a pre-packaged sandwich, then the app will be your go-to. In this case, Too Good To Go was not too good to be true. But, I might come armed with a sandwich bag next time.
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