UK
In the UK, look for Tesco express and the rack there and in any supermarket with reduced prices. They might fill up the section only after 6 pm, or throughout the day, or after 6 pm with increasing bargains as the evening wears on.
Cheap sandwiches are in Tesco, Boots, Morrisons and other supermarkets, often near the entrance or the checkout. If searching, save time and beat other shoppers, ask.
In Morrisons you might find reductions on the cooked chicken and cooked meat counter at the back of the store, already packaged and labelled on the top of the counter for you to grab.
Don't wait until the last minute. They might be clearing up half an hour before closing tf one ime.
I noticed that Waitrose in Harrow, NW London, had a section on the far right by the entrance for one person quick snacks, ideal for lunch time, because of the small size, low cost, and not taking up all your lunch hour to run around the supermarket.
SINGAPORE
In Singapore you find branches of 7-11 on the MRT (underground and overground railway system). If you want a quick bite to eat, look for 7-11, McDonalds, and food courts, often the basement or top floor or Supermarkets.
Fairprice in Singapore
I looked for a piece of cooked salmon, ready to eat, or ready to cook. All the pieces were large and identical prices. In London there's a whole range of prices. You can get one tiny piece for one person. Or add one piece to your packet for two to make three pieces for three persons. I don't know how they get two dozen packets of fish identical sizes and weights. I suppose it is done by machine, which saves them time. But disappointing for me as a customer. I did not buy.
I ran all over the shop looking for couscous. They don't stock it. Three assistants did not undertand the word. Even after I spelled it. Finally, an assistant said that they don't stock it. Any way to tell them?
At dinner time after 7 pm in Fairprice I was disappointed to not find an obvious small size counter. I was shopping for a one person snack to eat. I considered stopping at a fast food outlet, ruining my diet by eating cheesecake. I ended up in the ladies toilet, hunting through my shopping bag for something to keep me going. First I ate a couple of small carrots. Then a banana.
Everything seems designed for a family of four to eight persons. No economy of scale when I am buying for one instead of two.
Variety store chains in Asia[edit]
Names for variety stores in Asia[edit]
The interior of a one-euro shop in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- In Belgium, chains include Action, HEMA, and Zeeman.
- In Denmark: føtex, Tiger, a pun on the word for the Danish ten-krone coin, opened in the mid-nineties in Copenhagen and has since spread to other countries
- In France: Action, HEMA, Monoprix, Uniprix, M. 1-2-3. Zeeman
- In Germany, there are ToBi (German: Total Billig, "Totally Inexpensive") stores where most items cost one or two Euro or less. Other chains include Action, EuroShop, HEMA, Mäc-Geiz (240 stores), Pfennigland, Pfennigpfeiffer (110 stores), TEDi (1400 stores across Europe), Thomas Philipps (200 stores), and Zeeman
- In Greece: 300 (300 drachmas, €0.90)
- In Hungary there are 100 forintos bolt ("100 forints store") stores, but they do not form a single chain, instead of being operated by small, independent companies.
- In Ireland: EuroGiant, Dealz
- In Italy: UPIM
- In Luxembourg: HEMA, Zeeman
- In Malta: Tal-Lira
- In the Netherlands: HEMA chain started in the Netherlands, sold goods using standard prices of 10, 25 or 50 cents, and later also 75 and 100 cents. After World War II, this model could not be sustained and the standard pricing system was abandoned.[10] HEMA is the abbreviation of Hollandish standardized prices company (Dutch: Hollandse Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij). The HEMA had some 500 Dutch stores in 2011 and also operates in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Since 2016 the chain is expanding in to other European countries such as Spain and the United Kingdom. Other chains include Action, Big Bazar, Euroland, and Zeeman.
- In Portugal there were Trezentos shops (300 escudos, €1.50), but with the introduction of the Euro currency, this designation is not used nowadays and the terms 'bazar' or 'euro store' are preferred. Chains include Eupoupo - Tudo a €0,99 ou €1,49
- In Russia: Fixprice (50 rubles)
- Spain there are Todo a 100 shops ("everything for 100 pesetas" (€0.60)), although due to the introduction of the euro and inflation, most products cost a multiple of €0.60 or €1. Most of these shops maintain their name in pesetas, and most of them have been renamed as Casi todo a 100 ("almost everything for 100 [pesetas]"), Todo a 100, 300, 500 y más ("everything for 100, 300, 500 or more") or Todo a un euro. Colloquially, the expression todo a 100 implies that something is either cheap, kitsch or low quality.[citation needed]
- In Sweden: Bubbeltian, called by some Tian, a colloquialism for ten kronor, US$1.20. Another chain that has been spreading in Sweden during the last seven years is Dollarstore, a chain where everything costs either 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and steps of 50 up to 500 kr.
- In United Kingdom: B & M, Boyes, HEMA, Home Bargains, Poundland, Poundstretcher, Poundwise
Names for variety stores in Europe[edit]
South America[edit]
In Argentina, variety stores are called todo por dos pesos (everything for 2 pesos).
Brazilians sometimes use the expression um e noventa e nove (R$ 1,99) to refer to cheap, low quality things or even people.
In Chile, they are called todo a mil (referring to the one thousand Chilean pesos banknote). They are commonly located in middle-class neighbourhoods where big retail stores don't usually venture and in small commercial districts like the ones in Santiago.
In South America, variety stores may be known as:
- Dolarazo (US$1.00) and Cincuentazo (US$0.50) in Ecuador
- Loja de 1,99 (R$ 1,99 = US$1.07) in Brazil
- Todo por 23 pesos in Uruguay (23 pesos = US$1)
- Todo por dos Pesos in Argentina (1 peso = US$0.32)
- In Egypt, a variety store may be called a 2.5 LE shop
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