Annie's Victorian Tea Rooms

Annie's Victorian Tea Rooms, Oamaru

I recently made a visit to Oamaru for the first time since I took part in an Organic Festival there in 2004, and was amazed and delighted at how the creativity, passion and hard work of a widening group of people has continued to transform the place. It is transitioning from being a rather dowdy and dour provincial town, with decaying heritage buildings and few cultural or culinary attractions, into the 'kingdom by the sea' of Janet Frame's imagination. It is now a place where those very impressive old buildings are being given a new lease of life by being put to playful and productive uses that reference local and national heritage. Attractions range from a steam-punk museum with a fabulous real-size coin-operated 'train' outside (photographs and much more about steam-punk here) to a Victorian tea shop. This latter (Annie's Victorian Tea Rooms) is a must-visit place for all sorts of reasons.

 Annie serves tea in her tea rooms

Proprietor Annie Baxter has a deep love of New Zealand's heritage, and a possibly unique talent for making it live again – with your choice of whipped cream, yoghurt or raspberry sauce on the side. Her tea rooms in an historic limestone building have been renovated and decorated in the lavish Victorian manner. The tables and staff are also dressed in Victorian era cloths and clothes, and it all looks very proper – and yet not at all starchy. I can't help feeling that Victoriana is more fun the second time around. The staff clearly enjoy offering service Victorian-style, and I suspect the food is also more enjoyable, and better quality, than it would have been over a century ago, when it was the only choice available.

The club sandwich I chose from the menu of light meals was generously proportioned and the fillings were much more substantial than the usual tea rooms offering. The slice of cake I chose from the trolley (which groans with confections that look almost too good to eat) was also generous and delicious. The (fair trade, African) plunger coffee was strong and hot, and served in a white china pot. After eating the cake I had no room left to sample anything else on the menu, but it all looks tempting. The tea rooms themselves also tempt one to linger, looking at the décor and the books and photographs on the shelves, and listening to soft classical music on the stereo – or live from the piano, which has a pianist to play it most mornings. It is also good just to stare at the view right down the centre of Oamaru's main street, and bask in the sun streaming through the huge north and west facing windows.

Forget pasta, olive oil, Chianti and other Italian versions of Slow Food from the home of the Slow Food Movement – this is the real Kiwi deal. It is true to the principles of the Slow Food Movement, which are to keep the best of the world's culinary heritages alive, and to put both pleasure in eating and ecological sustainability at the centre of producing and preparing food. Annie has created an environment in which it feels natural and pleasurable to slow down, to sit, to sip, to stare, to share a taste of cake, to smile...

Tea at Annie's Victorian Tea Rooms is a very affordable pleasure as well. There is nowhere else I know of in New Zealand where you can get so much added value with your cuppa. Spread the word – and get to Annie's before you can't get into the place because it is full up with the American and British tourists who have read the rave reviews by their compatriots on the Trip Advisor website

Annie is a pint-sized bundle of creativity, energy and warm hospitality.