We finally invaded Lilac St. in Marikina!!! Our first restaurant of choice: Miguel and Maria.
We arrived the place past 12 and there were parking spaces available, so we were able to park easily. The restaurant was packed! A family was occupying the whole couch dedicated as the waiting area. We waited for the server to come to the front desk to have us listed on the waiting list. We were 3rd on the list, by the way, although it wasn't too long of a wait since customers are already preparing to leave.

While seated on the waiting area, the server gave us copies of the menu. She mentioned that we can already order our lunch while waiting for seats to be cleared, so they can serve it as soon as we sat down.

We ordered their baked salmon, steak, chicken parmigiano, seafood paella and roasted herbed chicken. The first three were served with roasted vegetables and a choice of either mashed potatoes or rice on the side.

[caption id="attachment_598" align="aligncenter" width="1728"] Baked Salmon P300[/caption]

I liked their baked salmon. I had it cooked well done, and it was good. It wasn't flaky or rubbery, contrary to what a server from another restaurant told me when I had a salmon returned to the kitchen to finish cooking. The cheeses on top didn't actually add much flavor to the dish, but it was okay. The mashed potato wasn't to my liking. It still had small bits of potatoes, and it wasn't as creamy and as seasoned as what I wanted it to be.

[caption id="attachment_599" align="aligncenter" width="1728"] Steak P350[/caption]

The steak used was New Zealand beef. I'm not sure on what New Zealand beef is, but I didn't enjoy the dish that much. When you cut your steak, you expect to see the "lines" of the beef. This wasn't the case. It was like big cuts of not-so-"jelly" fat. These are my thoughts, while my sister had the opposite. She liked the steak. But I guess I shouldn't have expected a lot considering the price.

[caption id="attachment_600" align="aligncenter" width="1728"] Chicken Parmigiano P250[/caption]

This was like a chicken breast pizza. It was just okay as well.

[caption id="attachment_603" align="aligncenter" width="1728"] Seafood Paella P350[/caption]

Huge huge serving of paella good for 3 people! Although I can say that this is not a legit paella, I was able to enjoy it as it was bursting with flavors.

[caption id="attachment_601" align="aligncenter" width="1727"] Roasted Herbed Chicken[/caption]

This was served with rice. We weren't asked on whether we will have it with rice or mashed potatoes. My first impression of it was it was like an inasal. But it was different, although it lacked the herby taste my boyfriend was looking for.

One thing about the dishes: almost all the dishes weren't served hot (except the paella). I know it's not because I took photos first, since it's the first time I encountered this issue with my food. Perhaps the food was ready minutes before it was brought to us. I think it would've been better if the food were served hot.

Serving was huge! A had a hard time finishing even just a single dish. Pricing is cheap given the serving.

Service was great as well. Even though I think they were short-staffed, the servers were able to pull it off and you won't even notice that they are getting stressed or tired.

P.S. There are more seats inside, although I wasn't able to take photos of it since it was dark and a bit crowded.