The former governor of the central bank’s mansion sells Taiwanese-style picnic box meals — enjoy a picnic anytime, anywhere

▲ The uniquely designed Taiwanese-style picnic box meals from Green Room Time combine traditional Taiwanese cuisine with nostalgic savory snacks. With a picnic theme in mind, the set integrates Taiwanese dishes, rice husk tableware, storage boxes, and eco-friendly phone stands all into a compact lunchbox. (Photo provided by Green Room Time)

Reported by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

In recent years, there has been a surge in interest in old buildings. The combination of historic architecture, design, and gourmet food has become a favorite spot for the culturally inclined. Located in Zhongshan District, the former residence of former central bank governor Xu Baiyuan has been renovated and once opened to the public as “Milo - Old House,” offering a cultural and creative space, Italian cuisine, and jewelry metalwork. It is now taken over by numerous startup studios and transformed into “Green Room Time,” which also preserves the two-story Japanese-Western style building while introducing richly flavored Taiwanese-style picnic box meals.


▲ Green Room Time has also preserved the two-story Japanese-Western style building. (Photo by Huang Shiyuan)


▲ Backyard.


▲ One of the second-floor seating areas.


▲ Bull’s-eye window.

The uniquely designed Taiwanese-style picnic box meals from Green Room Time combine traditional Taiwanese cuisine with nostalgic savory snacks. With a picnic theme in mind, the set integrates Taiwanese dishes, rice husk tableware, storage boxes, and eco-friendly phone stands all into a compact lunchbox. Just grab it and go, and you can carry a taste of Taiwan as you explore more historic residences in Zhongshan District, turning it into an impromptu cultural picnic.


▲ Dining in with the Time Lunchbox.


▲ Dining in with the Green Box Lunch.

There are two types of Taiwanese-style picnic box meals available (they can also be enjoyed on-site): the Green Box Lunch and the Time Lunchbox. The Green Box Lunch is entirely vegetarian, featuring traditional seasonings and dishes such as fermented tofu with spinach, shredded pepper with tea tree mushrooms, burdock eggplant stir-fry, and lily squash. The Time Lunchbox begins with a traditional coastal Tainan soup, watermelon-textured mullet soup, and is paired with orange sauce pork belly, fermented black bean oysters, Shaoxing wine chicken, pepper-flavored bitter oil noodles, and stir-fried dried cauliflower with luffa. Priced at NT$380.

The former governor’s mansion was originally completed in 1949 and is a restored historic building matched through Taipei City Government’s “Old Houses Cultural Movement.” It is a rare two-story Japanese-style structure, featuring both bull’s-eye windows and European-style sliding windows. After Green Room Time moved in, they invited various startup studios to display their creations here free of charge, and host at least one exhibition or event per month, preserving the memory of the old house for history while opening up the space to Taiwan’s innovative design scene.

Address: No. 24, Lane 62, Section 3, Xinsheng North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2597-2885
Business hours: 11:30–21:00